Firefly Sweet Dance
by It's Lucy's Wonderland Madness
Summary: It's not all sweets and desserts for shy Hotaru, who is partnered with Murasakibara, the purple haired giant. Being shy for her own good, makes the male want to crush her. Could this become a recipe of disaster or will they both learn something better then sweets? [Murasakibara x Oc]
1. English Project

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 1**

_You are a disgrace. Useless. Worthless...nothing but a tool for me to make money from._

Those words were engraved in my mind ever since I could understand what my mother was saying. I was always blamed for something I really didn't do but I tried my best to please my mother - even if in the end - I wasn't worth much.

* * *

Her nerves ate her from the inside as she tried hiding behind her book, trying to ignore the stares that students gave her as she sat by herself and the sleeping male besides her.

Today, their English teacher had decided that the class would have an assignment to do with a partner, making Hotaru Mia hope, hope that if someone would like to work alone they could - but the answer the teacher gave made her stomach drop.

Now she found herself sitting in the corner, finding it was indeed a bad idea, with stares and the whispers all directed towards her and her partner, a complete stranger may she add.

Feeling her palms become sweaty and her throat constricting tighter by the passing minute, she wanted to disappear, to be eaten by her book that was shaking in her grip. Waiting for the bell to ring, but the ticking on the clock for her seemed to go even slower now than ever.

"A-ano…" She whispered softly as she put the book down. Taking a peek through her black bangs, she poked the sleeping male. "E-etto...uh...e-excuse me…" Her whispers became more hoarsely as she tried to wake up the sleeping male. Sure she saw the male as a giant but then she would call herself as giant as well.

The male beside her grunted and made himself once more comfortable, falling into a deeper slumber. Fidgeting in her sit, she sighed and bit her bottom lip as she moved a bang from her face and behind her ear.

"A-ano…can...can you please wake up." She whispered a bit louder, trying not to choke with her own words as she poked the male once more, scared to deal with a stranger.

Lazy purple eyes open and stared at dull green eyes.

The girl jumped slightly as she saw bored eyes stare at her. Bring her hand back to her lap, she looked quickly down at her desk and began to talk.

"E-etto...Sensei t-told me...umm...to tell you...that...that we are partners for….for the project." Mai whispered, trying not to stutter too much.

"Eh...and who are you?" The purple haired male said as his eyes stared at her with boredom.

"E-etto...H-Hotaru M-Mai." She whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"I don't like your voice." He stated before he sat upright and took a bag of chips and began to eat it.

Mai bit her tongue and held in her anxiety to herself as she gripped her skirt tightly in her hand, trying not to cry. As the bell rang, Mai gathered her things, quickly running out of the room and towards her dorm, ignoring the questioning stares, the pointing fingers and secret whispering from people as they watch her run away.

Leaving the purple hair male eating to himself with a very bored expression, not caring that the girl he had spoken a few minutes ago ran away.

* * *

The following day, Mai had found herself standing in front of her English teacher along with her so called partner.

Both students stared at the teacher, Mai could guess why she was there but on the other hand, the male seemed to not care why he was there.

"I heard yesterday that you two seemed unwillingly wanting to work together in this project, can I get an explanation?" Sharp eyes stared at the two. Mai rubbed her wrist and looked away from her teacher.

"Hotaru? Murasakibara? I need to hear your reasons." Their teacher continued.

Taking a deep breath, Mai looked at her hands before speaking. "Sensei...etto...i-it seems t-that I...I can't be p-partners with him." She whispered, continued to rub her wrist together.

"And why is that?" The female teacher spoke making Mai wince at her tone. Trying to keep her breath steady she decided to not speak.

Their English teacher sighed and slammed her book shut, making Mai look at the book before her eyes darted towards the teacher and towards her hands once more.

Murasakibara seemed uninterested and wasn't even speaking up.

"Look, you two don't have partners and this project is pretty much a big chunk of your grade." Their teacher began, Mai frowned and Murasakibara seemed to do the same. "So, I suggest you two to get over your reasons and work or else you both will be in trouble with your English grades and Murasakibara, you will be forbidden to play in the Winter Cub even if you are our basketball's ace." She continued as she crossed her arms and stared at the two tall teens.

Both teen reluctantly nodded their heads and accepted that they were partners for the project. Partners for the whole semester.

Mai bit her cheek as she glance out of the corner of her eyes to see the purple haired male glare at the paper the teacher had handed them as she shoo them out of the office and back to the classroom.

Noticing that he was being stared at Murasakibara stopped and looked at the girl properly.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Mai wanted to be for the floor to eat her alive right then and there. Her eyes widen a bit, allowing for a single tear to fall down before she looked down at floor and gripped her wrist tightly, not caring that the paper in her hands crumbled.

"H-Hotaru...H-Hotaru Mai." She whispered hoarsely, trying to keep her breath steady and the tears from falling. That question just made her little self-confidence to crumble slightly but the next words shocked her the most.

"I hate your voice...it makes me want to crush you." The purple haired male stated bluntly before walking past her and headed towards his class, mumbling to himself about getting more sweets.

Mai stood frozen in her spot before letting out a shaggy breath, reminding herself, there was no need to worry about his words, instead, she needed to worry about the assignment but deep down her gut told her she wouldn't last the semester being partners with him.

She knew her confidence wasn't going to last and the little light she had was starting to flicker off.


	2. Awkwardness

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 2**

Mai found all of her concentration on the piece of paper, trying to ignore the bored purple eyes that stared down on her.

Taking a deep breath, Mai braced herself with the cold stare as she peeked through her bangs and tried to speak without stuttering much.

She could do it but with the lack of human communication the past few months made it trouble for the girl to speak to someone - especially a male that was a foot taller than herself.

"Eto ne…"She started quietly before inhaling deeply and started to speak with her strongest voice. "I can make a plan for us to work with." She said, steady and bluntly. Closing her eyes for a minute before she moved her bangs behind her ears and open them to look at the taller male.

"We can make a plan, where...where we don't have to meet up all the times and only communicate with our e-mail or cell phones." She finished as she held her left wrist tightly.

Atsushi stared at the girl before he nodded his head slowly.

He could work with that.

The fact that he was being forced to work and have to be partnered with someone that look so weak annoyed him but his grade did depend on it and his team, especially his coach, would be very angry at him if he wasn't allowed to play because his grade in English grade wasn't acceptable.

"Okay." The girl whispered as she took out a pencil from her bag and her notebook and started to scribble down a list and details about their project.

Atsushi could only stare at her, he was annoyed by her but still he felt curious as to why she was acting as if yesterday never happen. He saw that the girl was walking more slowly and she avoided any contact with any other students once the bell ringed. He thought she would have gone to the teacher and demand to work alone or something, but here she sat.

Sighing, Murasakibara looked out the window bored. Everybody had already left to their dorms or to their after school activities, while he sat here, unable to eat due to no longer having snacks.

Mai notice his impatiens and decided to speak, "If you want, you can leave and I'll...give it to you tomorrow."

The purple haired male looked at her once more before getting up and leaving the room with his belongings, leaving the girl some space to breath by herself.

* * *

_"She will never be the same."_

_"Like you care, she is my daughter and I can do whatever I want to her."_

_"She is NOT a tool for you to use! SHE is a human being AND a child!"_

_"I don't need to be told what to do! THIS IS MY HOME AND YOU WILL ACCEPT MY RULES!"_

* * *

"Mhm." She moan, stretching her muscles from the lack of movement. Taking a glance at the clock, Mai decided it was time to meet up with the purple hair giant as she took off her reading glasses.

It was Saturday afternoon and the tall female decide she would finish the last of notes before she met up with the purple haired male to start the assignment before they parted ways, also to exchange an email address or phone number to communicate instead of meeting up.

Dressing up in black leggings with a black tube top and adding a beige long sleeve sweater that was lace in the ends. Grabbing the papers along with her glasses, she put them all in the messenger bag and put on her ankle boots and walked out of the dorm room with keys and phone in her hands, ears plugged with her headphones.

* * *

Murasakibara was annoyed.

Not only was he forced to practice early in the morning but his supply of sweets had ran out early in practice. Making the purple haired giant grumpy.

Who ever thought of Saturday morning practices had hopefully died painfully.

Pouting like a little child, the male sat on the ground as he waited for his teammates to come out of the gym. He had managed to escape his coach's lecture, a very boring lecture about being late to practice.

"A-Ano ne...Murasakibara-kun?" A soft voice broke the peaceful silence that Murasakibara was enjoying.

Opening his eyes in a very lazy manner, he saw a feminine figure standing a few feet away from him, nervously looking anywhere but the male himself.

"What?" He drawl out as he cocked his head to the side, allowing strands to fall in his face, making his stare more intense and annoyed.

Wincing at the annoyed purple eyes, Mai bite her bottom lip and nodded her head before speaking. "I...I got the plan done." She spoke.

The male frown at her statement.

"What now?" He asked

Mai was expecting those words but she still herself fall more into despair.

"T-The English project…" She whispered.

At the words of English project, Murasakibara nodded his head slowly, the word became familiar and the annoying feeling in his stomach came back even more painful.

"So?" He asked once more.

Taking a shaky breath, the female reached in her bag and quickly walked over to him and handed him the various sheets.

"I try to make it so it won't be much….ano...but I also had to follow the procedures sensei gave us." Mai said, her voice tremble slightly but it was become sterner as she continued to speak to the giant.

Murasakibara looked over the papers and let out an annoyed noise, making the girl jump slightly at his worsening mood.

"A-ano ne...Murasakibara-kun?" She asked with caution.

"Shut up." The purple hair suddenly said as he stood up, towering the surprised and terrified girl as she hid her face with her hair.

"Atsushi!" A voice broke the tense silence between both classmates. Murasakibara looked to his back while Mai was overtaken by Murasakibara's sudden command.

"Muro-chin~" The tall male went from annoyed to a much calmer attitude.

"Don't Muro-chin me Atsushi! You left us to deal with Coach's lecture, which was not fair." The voice continued, sounder closer and closer.

"But Muro-chin, her lectures are boring." The taller male whined.

Mai was grateful she was forgotten, feeling the need to flee secretly, she slowly began walking backwards - though it sounded like a perfect plan, the new incomer had reached the side of the taller male and smile at his taller companion but also, taking in that he wasn't alone.

"Oh, I see you aren't alone. I am not interrupting anything am I?" The black haired male asked, a slight surprised showed in his face.

Murasakibara shifted his eyes at the backing Mai, who felt like a coward for failing at disappearing.

"E-eto ne…s-sorry..." Mai whispered hoarsely, looking at her feet.

"Sorry? What for?" The male asked.

Mai shook her head, "S-sorry." She whispered once more before turning around, reading herself to leave.

"We're not done talking."

Mai froze in her spot before turning her head to look at the owner of the statement.

"E...eh?" She managed to utter. Her hair covered most of her face but her green eye managed to catch purple irises.

"We're. Not. Done. Talking." Murasakibara said slowly.

Mai nodded her head slowly before turning her body to face both males.

Himuro was curious at what was going on. Murasakibara never bothered to interact with other people - especially with girls.

And here he was, interacting with one.

Taking a deep breath, Mai grabbed her left wrist and looked at the purple haired giant.

"When is this due?" Murasakibara asked, pointing to the papers in his hands, which made Himuro's eyes wander to the paper.

"B-by the end of the fall semester." Mai stated.

Murasakibara nodded his head.

"And how are we communicating." He continued with his questions. Annoyance started to fill his mood.

"Ano sa...I can give you my e-mail address or during breaks in class." She whispered.

Nodding his head, Murasakibara frown as he debated to himself what to choose.

"Give me your e-mail."

Sighing in relief, Mai quickly ducked through her bag and began searching for a pen and paper to write down her mail address.

The less interaction they had - the better for them, right?

Handing the paper to Murasakibara, she bit her lip, unsure whether she should take her leave or stay.

Murasakibara nodded and grabbed the paper and stuffed the sheets in his bag which laid in the floor.

"Okay." The male stated.

Taking it as her cue, "T-then I'll be t-taking my leave." She whispered, bowing to them and began to leave.

"Oh, why don't you invite her to come eat lunch with us?" Himuro asked all of the sudden, surprising Mai and making Murasakibara frown at his statement.

"E-Eh?" She squealed.

"Muro-chin." Murasakibara stated.

Both students didn't want to interact anymore then they need to and having lunch together wasn't the wisest idea.

"Oh come on Atsushi, it seems you guys are partners, why don't you discuss your plans more thoroughly while eating." Himuro stated, ignoring the annoyed stare from the giant and the nervous look from the girl.

"I-I couldn't possible have t-that's-senpai…" She whispered.

"Oh, it's no problem." Himuro stated, shrugging it off.

"B-but, I have t-things to do." She try arguing, only for her voice to weaver.

Murasakibara nodded his head, "Muro-chin, aren't we going with the team somewhere?"

Mai was grateful that male also didn't want to be with her, even though it seemed a bit rude but she was grateful. She didn't want to spend any other minute with other people, especially with an annoyed giant that seems to not like her one bit.

"Oh, well she can join us." Himuro stated.

As the words left his lips, the rest of Yosen's basketball team began coming out of the gym.

"Murasakibara!" A loud voice interrupted the trio, making the female flinch and bit her lip harder, drawing a small amounts of blood.

"You are going to get it next time." The voice continued as he came towards the purple haired. Murasakibara looked lazily at the rough looking male.

Two others came behind him, staying quiet.

Mai was feeling more and more anxious as she slowly once more began backing away slowly.

Himuro caught her and smile slightly at her, "Ah, please don't go." He said, driving all the attention away from the male freshman to the female. She froze in her spot.

"Ah! I see a pretty girl, what are you doing here? Wait, don't tell me you are here to confess to him." The rough looking male stated as he looked at Mai.

Mai shook her head quickly, horrified expression crossed her face.

"N-no!" She managed to yell.

This made the new people surprised.

Sharp eyes eyed her, "Then what are you doing here?"

Before she could answer, Himuro answered, "She is here for Atsushi."

Bewildered by the comment, they stared at her.

Mai hid her face with her hands, "Sorry!" She screamed before turning around and ran away. Her heart was beating fast and she was beginning to tremble at the stares of strangers. She was _not _used to people. She wasn't ready and probably would never be.

Dumbfounded by the situation the team didn't know how to react at the action of the strange girl.

Murasakibara looked down at the bag, completely forgetting he no longer had sweets. "Eh, Muro-chin, can I go buy sweets?"


	3. Secret

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 3**

Balancing the pencil on her upper lip, Mai stared at the ticking of the clock. Watching the red pointer move by the second.

"Mai, I am home." A voice echoed through the house - making her smile big as she stood up quickly from the chair, allowing a small screech sound as the young girl hurried to owner of the voice.

"Araki-nesan!" The female yelled out as she flung herself onto the older female, making the female smile.

"I see you are excited today." The black haired woman said, Mai giggled.

"Well, today is the first day we have seen each other ever since school started once more." The girl pouted as she let go of Araki.

The woman let out a chuckled as she removed her shoes and entered the house, with Mai following - who talked happily about the cooking show that was recently on and the delicious cake recipe she wrote down to make.

Masako Araki allowed Mai to speak, watching the girl carefully as she became from the timid girl to a bubbly girl. A whole side that the school students have yet to see.

"So, how was your coaching today?" The girl asked as she cocked her head to the side as she sat on the chair with her knees touching her chest. Her hair pulled back into a messy pony tail, allowing for her green eyes to show curiosity.

"Everybody is doing well - except for certain freshman." The female said as she sat across from the female, removing her blazer. "Hmm." The younger girl hummed.

"But I heard interesting news from your English teacher." Masako smoothly said as she scattered a folder with papers on the table.

Mai's face became shock and then quickly changed to nervous as a slight blush grew on her face. "I-Interesting news?" She asked, looking down to the table and watched as papers were moved around and piled in different stacks.

"Yes," Masako said, keeping her eyes on the papers, "She told me that you are working on a project with a partner."

Letting out a nervous laugh, Mai nodded her head. "Yeah…" She awkwardly said.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Masako said as she placed a paper down and looked at Mai with a soft smile. Mai nodded timidly.

"I hope so, it's been a while since I spoke to another being." Mai muttered. Masako shook her head and chuckled, "Don't think about it much, and just imagine you are talking to Hiroki-san." Masako said teasingly.

Become bright red, Mai open to retort but the words never left her mouth only allowing for Masako to laugh at her expression.

* * *

"Alright Hiroki-san, we need to work properly on this paper!" Mai said as she looked at the panda bear who was dressed in a Yosen look-alike uniform, along with red rectangular glasses.

Frowning, she laid on her back as she looked at the ceiling, "Ahh, this is annoying." She mumbled. Hearing a ding come from her computer she hurried towards the laptop and looked at the small e-mail icon notify she had one mail.

Biting her bottom lip, she quickly moved to open the mail.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: English**

**wat is the book you named? I lost the list.**

Mai eyes widen as she read the message. She wasn't expecting for the purple male to message her or possible think that he would be doing his homework early.

Taking a deep breath she quickly messaged him back.

**To: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**From: Firefly_Mai .net**

**Subject: re: English**

**Used the web - typed Japanese Folktale - but I can send you the list again…**

As she watched the message be sent, Mai tapped her fingers on the desk and watched the screen -patiently waiting for her an answer, hoping the male doesn't get angry.

Hearing another ding, surprised she quickly opened the message.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: re: re: English**

**K. give me list. I'll look through online for right now then.**

With that, the conversation ended and the female soon found herself making another list for the male - with a slight hope that things weren't _that_ bad between the two.

* * *

"Hotaru-chan" The voice echoed as a male approached her. Looking through her bangs, Mai looked to up from her book and stared into amused grey eyes.

"...E...eh?" She managed to say as she brought the book to her lower face.

"That's your name right?" The male asked. Mai slowly nodded her head, unsure what to say to the stranger.

"I am Himuro Tatsuya, I just wanted to tell you an apology for what happen on Saturday. I might have come off rude." The male said. Mai nodded her head slowly before speaking.

"I...its o-okay," She whispered as she averted her eyes to the floor.

Himuro shook his head, "No, I was rude and I am sorry. I also wanted to tell you, please don't be afraid of Atsushi, he...he is just lazy also, he didn't have any sweets that day, so he was pretty annoyed from the beginning."

Mai nodded her head, "I...it's okay."

Letting a small smile, Himuro nodded his head, "Well, I'll see you around."

With that being said, the male left to look for his skipping partner.

Letting out a deep breath she was holding, she placed the book back down on the table and continued to read, ignoring the rest of the world.

* * *

"Hiroki-san, I think the world is going mad!" She whispered to the stuffed toy as she peeked at him behind her book. The bear just stared at her with his light brown eyes.

"It is! Today this pretty boy came up to me and actually spoke to me! No one does that!" She stated as she slammed her book down. "What if...what if they are on to us?" She said as she looked around.

"We can't let the school know that I am the one who won the cooking competition last summer!" She said, biting her thumb.

"No! I can't have the school know about me!" The girl screamed as she jumped on her bed, knocking down her textbooks to the floor.

"Yuki-chan! Tell Hiroki-san to be quiet!" The female pouted as she looked at a white teddy bear who was dressed as a chef.

Silence then settle in the room, which eventually led Mai falling asleep.

*Ding*

*Ding*

*Ding*

Waking up groggily, Mai blinked as she squinted her eyes while adjusting her vision from the blaring of her computer.

Moving towards the computer, Mai fell off her bed, a thud echoed through the room as the girl woke up instantly. "Ow." She muttered as she sat up.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: English**

**How long is one subject?**

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: English**

**Also, what does the teacher want for define?**

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: English**

**Does she really want our opinion?**

Blinking at the message, Mai found herself in a position where she was unsure how to respond to the lazy giant. Was he really taking this project seriously?

Taking a deep breath, Mai had found herself typing back her response. Within a few minutes, the male responded with an "okay" and the conversation had quickly ended. Mai was happy that she didn't have to converse with the giant and even more happy that the only words spoken at school was trading each other's paper to see what they had done and fix minor errors but far from that, the male still made her stutter and he hate it, commenting that she should shut up, making her tense - struggling to keep her composure in check with him.

Stretching, Mai stood up and walked around her dorm, picking up her books that had fallen when she faced jumped down into her bed. Looking around, her dorm room was small - a smaller version of her room back at Masako's house, but the female didn't mind it. Hearing a ding, Mai frowned and went towards her computer and checked the mail. Reading the subject, curiosity got to her and opened it.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: anonymous .net**

**Subject: I know**

**I know your secret.**

Books fell to the floor with a loud thump. Her breath got caught in her throat and anxiety slowly clouded her mind as she reread the message. Two weeks hadn't passed by that her world was becoming open to other people -mostly two, but it didn't matter. Her small comfortable world was slowly falling apart as the message kept popping up, allowing the small notification ding ring the room. Making Mai become frighten by the minute as the email continued to pop.

A loud shriek left her lips as she fell on to her bottom, tears gathering.

_I know your secret._


	4. Who is actually strong?

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 4**

_"Daddy! Look!" A small girl yelled as she ran straight to the male who was sitting behind his desk, with many papers scattered everywhere along with books and crunched up papers._

_"Ah, Mai-chan, I see you found another recipe." The male stated softly - his old green eyes sparkled at the enthusiastic girl._

_"Mhm!" The girl nodded as she stood next to his desk as she pushed the book towards her father._

_Pushing his chair back, he allowed for the girl to climb onto his lap and both observing the book. "Can we make it? Daddy can us?" She asked._

_The male chuckled, "Of course we can, and all we need is to buy the ingredients." The six year old smile grew big and hugged her father around the waist. "Thank you daddy!" She screamed._

_"Ah and can we invite Araki-nesan to eat it with us when we are done making it?" She asked._

_"Of course, why would we leave your godmother out of your training for a pastry chef?" The man said as he kissed her forehead. The girl just giggled as they went back talking about the strawberry cake in the recipe book._

* * *

Whispered echoed everywhere that Thursday morning.

Eagerly wanting to know the news of Wednesday's night horror in the girls' dorm. Everybody wanted to know what happen, why there was a scream of a girl being attacked.

But rumors where only rumors and by the end of the day, everybody forgot.

Not one person notice that the person behind the scream hadn't appeared to school that following day or the next.

* * *

"What secret is the person talking about?" The elder male asked as he stared at the laptop that had been brought to have the messages investigated.

Masako sighed, crossing her arms as her eyes narrowed at the piece of technology. "It has to do with her mother and the block of her memories." The female coach responded before allowing her eyes to look at the principal who nodded his head.

"Well this cause trouble for the school?" He asked.

"It shouldn't, the mother isn't allowed to make any contact with her - unless Mai wants to speak with her, but that would be unlikely. All she remembers is that her mother is the one that caused her to forget what happen also taking the news of her father badly." The female said. The principal nodded his head and sighed, "Well, let Mai rest at your place till she feels better, she will be excused but she still must do the work that gets sent to her."

"Of course."

"And whoever thinks this is a prank, we will find out who sent it to her, this e-mail address is only given to students at Yosen high to be able to communicate at school for school reasons. So whoever did this must be a student." The male stated and Masako nodded her head, making her nervous became less agitated by the assurance of the words. Whoever did this, not had caused Mai to have an emotional breakdown, they knew information about her past that only the school teachers knew, her doctor and herself could understand.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

* * *

Himuro was quite curious of the purple headed male English partner.

She was very timid, very average actually - though she was a few inches shorter than himself - she really didn't have any qualities that made her stand out.

And he guessed why his partner was annoyed by the girl.

She stuttered, a lot, or she covered her bottom face with the book she was currently reading, making it difficult for anybody to hear.

And it happen every time that she and Murasakibara had to talk and exchange information for the project as the male could only observe her as they both worked.

So when the few days that the girl didn't show up to class, the male grew a bit worry that something may had happen to the shy girl. Remembering about the rumors that had spread like wildfire on Thursday morning, Himuro wondered if something bad did happen.

"You know, Hotaru-chan hasn't come to school, do you wonder why?" Himuro asked as he accompany Murasakibara to the gym for another practice.

Murasakibara only frowned, "Nope, she hasn't responded to any message I have sent so I don't care."

Himuro let out a low chuckled. Of course the giant wouldn't care. The less time he spent talking to the girl, the better.

"Ah, well she is your partner, why don't you go and check up on her? She might be very sick." The male stated. He enjoyed seeing his partner have different expression when it came to the girl - it seemed he couldn't keep his lazy stare whenever she popped into the conversation.

"If you care about her, why don't you go and check on her." The purple hair giant mumbled.

Himuro shook his head, "Because I am not her partner."

With that being said, the conversation had ended.

* * *

Masako sighed as she entered the gym earlier that day, she had Mai follow her to school, though she still nervous about everything around her, it seemed whatever happen on Wednesday night was long forgotten - except for her nervous where just scattered everywhere.

"Come on Mai, I am going to have you do some exercise so you can have all the jittering nerves out of your system." The elder female said.

Mai frowned at her words, "T-that's why you made me wear something comfortable!" The girl squealed. Dressed in black sweatpants, a purple loose shirt and black sneakers - she was dressed ready to do exercise.

"Of course, I can't let you cook all my food now." The female stated, hands found her way on her hips as she stared at the girl. The girl pouted and nodded her head. "But Araki-nesan, it won't be my fault if I end up badly bruised." With that being said, the girl went to a corner and began stretching.

* * *

The gym was silent, with only the light thumps the female made as she followed the small basic stretching and exercise that Masako had forcefully drilled into Mai's mind ever since she was six.

The older female was busy with writing down the basketball training schedule and specified who was to do what.

It was nice and calming for Mai.

But it ended too soon, much to her displeasure.

"ALRIGHT! NOW EVERYBODY LET'S GO AND DO OUR LAPS FIRST AND THEN WE COME BACK INSIDE FOR THE REST OF THE TRAINING!" A loud voice boomed from the male locker room. Mai lost her balance and face-planted to the ground with a loud thud.

Heavy footsteps came out of the locker room and made their way out of the gym and towards the track field.

Mai could only do what she was used to doing, she hid behind the basketball's basket as she watched the boys rush outside as they laughed and argued.

It was too loud.

Out of the crowed, she could easily spot the purple haired male, she knew she had to talk to him sooner or later but this was too soon for her fragile heart. Biting her lip, she fell to her knees as she clasped her hands together and just wished that she could escape, really soon.

With the few more people rushing out of the gym, it went back to being silent. Letting out the breath she was holding she peeked out only to meet with sharp eyes.

Letting out a small scream, she fell into her bottom. "Coach is calling you." He stated as he continued to eye her. Nodding her head, she quickly stood up and ran towards the elder lady, who had a smirk placed in her lips. Tripping half way, she ended up falling once more on her face, the female groan, this was not her day but quickly stood up once more and made her way next to the coach.

The male continued to stare at the scene before rushing out of the gym to do his laps.

Not only did she made herself a fool in front of a stranger - Mai ended up having become bruised without even trying.

* * *

"Araki-nesan, can I please leave." She whispered.

Masako shook her head.

"No, you are going to leave when I leave." The female said.

"Wahh? But that means till the training is over!" Mai whined.

Shrugging her shoulders, Masako turned her back on the whining teenager.

"Well it doesn't matter now, you are staying here and having all those jittery nerves calm down."

With that being said, the teen sighed and nodded her head.

Everything was hazy for her, but she knows that she had once more scared her godmother to death when she promised herself she would never do it again, but she broke it.

Hugging her knees close to her chest, she watched her godmother confidently stand up in front of the rough looking boys and calling them to attention, explaining to them their schedules and what was expected

Mai's face once more hidden behind the curtain of black hair as she observed her.

She was jealous.

Jealous that she couldn't even speak to a person without stuttering.

Jealous but also admired Masako.

But Masako was the one who always told her, the strong one out of the two of them was Mai - she didn't believe it or understood what the meaning was behind the words that Masako always told her when she felt down.

She wasn't strong.

Not that she knew of.

But of how wrong Mai was, the only thing she could think was that her brain for blocking most of her childhood and locking away memories she wasn't aware off but there were triggers every now and then that would make her alarm.

Just like the message that was sent to her.


	5. Ignoring you for Revenge

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

_Monday_

* * *

"Eto ne...M-Murasakiba-kun..." Mai whispered as she stood in front of the sleeping giant. After two weeks of being absent, the timid girl had once more resumed school, after a hard physical training over the weekend and slight bruising, the girl had managed to control her nerves.

But speaking to the giant and even going as far shaking him awake, the teen didn't bother waking up, making Mai inwardly wince before going to her seat as class began.

He was making her job harder.

* * *

_Tuesday_

* * *

During break, Mai desperately tried looking for the skipping male. Every Tuesday or Thursday, the male would skip.

Hands on her knees and panting, Mai's green eyes scanned the school, lunch, courtyard, and the gym but she couldn't find the purple hair male.

Groaning at the warning bell, Mai trudge her way back to the class but she continued eyeing her surrounding, searching for the male.

* * *

_Wednesday_

* * *

Mai thanked whatever God or Goddess that had made the male be awake and in class that day.

"M-murasakibara-kun," she began in a soft whisper, but the male kept his eyes on the desert magazine on his desk, ignoring her existence in all.

At first the black haired girl thought he didn't hear her so she tried again.

"Eto ne...Murasakibara-kun." her voice was slightly louder but it it trembled as the words left her dry lips.

Nothing.

Taking a big breath, she closed her eyes and poked the purple haired male and spoke once more, "Murasakibara-kun..." came her voice, coming out raspy as she forced her throat to sound louder but the male had yet to respond to her.

Opening her mouth to speak, the male abruptly stood up and left the room, leaving a shock and trembling girl behind.

* * *

_Thursday_

* * *

The female had come to a conclusion that the male was avoiding her and ignoring her weak attempts at trying to get his attention.

It sucked for Mai and it sucked more when their English teacher called them to check up on their work - but the male seemed to have once more skipped class leaving the poor girl to get lectured by the vulture-stare of her teacher.

The cool surface calmed Mai's nerves down as she try coming up with a proper plan in trying to get the giants attention.

But how?

The female barely spoke to the male - more precisely, she hadn't spoken to any other student since school started.

Didn't make up conversation with others or wasn't up to date with the latest gossip that roam throughout the school. Neither was she remembering all of her classmates name properly because she didn't feel the need to know all twenty four students who would eventually backstab her and use her.

Well not all students were like that but Mai was too naive about friendship and trusting people that she preferred speaking to the female coach or her collection of stuff animals that reside both in her dorm and Masako's home.

Weakly getting up from her desk, dragging her feet out of the empty classroom and back to her comfortable dorm, Mai made her resolution to hunt the male down, even if it killed her.

* * *

_Friday_

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Mai glanced to her side before she turned around and looked at Murasakibara.

The male was sitting on his desk, looking over what seem to be the latest sweet bakery catalog.

"M-Murasakibara-kun." She calls out slowly but the male didn't budge.

"Murasakibara-kun…" She says once more standing up.

Silence.

Biting her lip she pokes him, "Murasakibara-kun." Wavering a bit, but her voice came out loud.

Looking up, the male looked at Mai for a bit before looking back at the magazine.

Mai's mouth slightly dropped as she watched the male directly ignore her.

"M-M-Murasakibara-kun." She weakly said.

The purple hair male didn't move or spoke.

"Atsushi, let's go." Himuro's voice called out from the doorway, bento in his hand.

"Okay." The teen said as he got up with his own bag filled with sweets.

Mai could gape at childish act her partner gave her.

"W-what did I do?" She squealed as she watched the male leave the room.

It took a few minutes for her to process that she was left without any answer. Moving her feet, she quickly ran towards the purple hair male. "Mura-Murasakibara!" She yelled but her stuttering didn't leave her. Himuro stopped making the male stop as well.

"A-are you ignoring me?" She asked shyly, her voice slowly reverting back to a whisper. The male didn't say anything. The second year male could only question what was going on between both English partners.

"Y-YOU ARE IGNORING ME!" This time, Mai's voice did rise high than normal for her. Surprising passers and surprising both males.

Realizing she had raised her voice, Mai covered her mouth.

Murasakibara looked at her and nodded his head before he began walking away.

Shocked, Mai uncovered her mouth and pushed her hair out of her face and yelled on top of her lungs, even though she stuttered.

"T-THEN STOP IGNORING M-ME, M-MURASAKIBARA-K-KUN!"

Her green eyes were narrowed as she looked at the taller man's broad back as he stopped.

Turning sideways, he looked at her with his lazy purple eyes and nodded his head. "Okay."

Blinking her eyes, she watched as both males left her speechless and flustered before she rushed back to the classroom to eat her own lunch.

Oh how Mai wished she could have died by the wrath of the purple teen instead of experiencing so much embarrassment.

* * *

Amused eyes stared at Murasakibara, "Ignoring, huh?"

"So?" The accused pouted.

"I think that as childish." Himuro stated.

Shrugging his shoulders, Murasakibara continued eating his sweets. "I don't think so."

"Why did you do it?"

"Cause."

"Just cause?"

"Cause she deserved it."


	6. Respect

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 6**

The last few days of September, Mai had found herself in the library with the male, much to her surprise.

"This is too much." The purple haired male said as he pouted at the perfectly stacked papers sitting on the table. All finished and put together properly.

"E-even if it was only analyzing this, s-sensei gave us too many folklore titles to do it on." Mia whispered as her chin pressed against the cool surface of the table.

Her hair was tied up into a messy bun and her bangs clipped to her side, so Murasakibara could see the relaxed face the female made. Mai had slowly started to become comfortable with the male and the male had stopped glaring at her, but he still found it annoying when the girl kept her voice lower than a whisper or hid whenever she spoke.

The most he hated was her stuttering, but he saw she was trying her best not to stutter but even so, it still made her stutter a bit more.

His chin pressed against his palm, allowing him to rest on it as his eyes wandered towards a nearby window. He could see the leaves on the trees slowly start changing their colors as they began to fall.

October was coming, meaning the school Cultural Festival is going to be deciding soon and that meant doing more work than usual. Also with the Winter Cup coming soon, their coach was adding more to their daily training schedule that was even more tiresome, even though he skipped some, it was still too much work for the lazy teen.

Mai was unsure how to feel, October was right around the corner and it meant the second semester would start, along with the Cultural Festival and even more homework. The girl didn't enjoy any of the above. All she was looking forward was the small break they were going to be given and the turning in of the assignment, which the English teacher had already assign the due date.

Meaning she no longer had to speak to tall neighbor and she was a happy about it - though they barely spoke, only the last few days, but it was more with - this is boring in every opinion the purple haired teen wrote.

The "I don't care." "Why do I even need to analyze this?" and "This so boring, I prefer sleeping to actually doing this."

Making the black haired girl sigh deeply before asking him to change it and give a much better response than one sentences.

* * *

_"No! M-Murasakibara-kun, this, this isn't supposed to be w-written like this." Mai stated as she looked at Murasakibara at his pages._

_The male cocked his head to this side, "Why not? She asked for my opinion and I gave it to her." He childishly retorted as he continued to eat his chips._

_Mai sighed._

_"B-but not like this?" She weakly spoke as she stared at the paper again._

_"Then how should it be done."_

_"D-did you even read mine?"_

_"Nope, it was boring."_

_Mai opened her mouth but closed it._

_"M-Murasakibara-kun, even if it is boring, you have to write it like that. I-it's called analyzing."_

_"Don't care, my opinion in English is boring."_

_"B-but…" Mai was cut off._

_"No buts, English can die, along with math, science and growing up." Murasakibara pouted as he opened another bag of chips._

_Mai sighed._

_Grabbing her pen, she began writing down neatly on his paper as the purple hair teen looked at her._

_"What are you doing?" The teen asked._

_"F-fixing it." Mai said, biting her lip as she kept her eyes glued on the paper._

_"No."_

_"Y-Yes."_

_"No."_  
_"Y-yes."_

_"No."_

_"...yes…"_

_"I said no."_

_Groaning, Mai allowed her head to fall hard on the table, "Yes."_

_"Maybe."_

_"Yes."_

_"Maybe."_

_Looking up, Mai's green eyes narrowed at Murasakibara._

_'Sadist.' Mai thought to herself._

_"Yes and that's final." The female said quickly before she went back to fixing his paper._

_Murasakibara eventually nodded his head._

_"Fine, but I fix yours."_

_As those words left his mouth, the male had already grabbed Mai's papers and a red pen and began writing stuff down. "_

_"W-What?! N-No!" Mai suddenly said as she hurried to get her papers back, but the male had stood up, away from her reached. Using a book to hold the papers, he scribbled words._

_Mai pouted and then went back to fixing his._

_"You said we need to help each other make this perfect, so I am helping now." Murasakibara said as he put the papers in front of Mai after he finished. Mai stared at the paper scribbled and crossed out. Murasakibara did the same thing._

_"T-this is too much!" The girl gawked as she read his comments and looked at the scratched out parts._

_"You did the same to me."_

_"I-is this your revenge?"_

_"Dunno...maybe."_

_Once more, Mai's face found its way towards the table, it was difficult working with Murasakibara and all his revenge. Though, Mai had only experience it two times._

* * *

"Okay, now class, before you guys go for your small break before the new semester starts, we must choose our theme for the Cultural festival, and does anybody have ideas?" Their homeroom teacher asked as his eyes twinkled around the room.

Students slowly began shouting from, a cosplay cafe to a haunted house to a drama.

"Why don't we all vote for one?" The representative of the class asked as he stood beside the homeroom teacher.

Murasakibara was lazily watching as he secretly munched on a chocolate bar.

Mai was reading a think book, hiding herself in the corner.

Both students ignoring and not taking part of the voting.

After the first Friday of October, the English assignment was turned and both students hadn't spoken since then. A week of not interacting and going back to their normal daily businesses, ignoring that they had ever spoken to each other.

* * *

_"Well, this is a lot, especially when you two didn't want two work together." The female teacher stated._

_Mai looked anywhere but the teacher as she held her wrist tightly._

_Murasakibara just plainly stared at the teacher._

_"Well, not that this is done, you don't have to be together, now that wasn't bad, was it?" The brunette stated._

_Mai whispered underneath her breath before she hid her face with a book._

_Murasakibara only had narrowed his lazy purple eyes at the comment._

_Smiling the teacher left them, leaving both students to be to themselves._

* * *

"Who is going to be the cook then?"

"I heard Hotaru-chan is a great cook from Coach Masako." The elderly homeroom teacher stated.

At the hearing of her name, Mai froze as she could only stare at the lines in her book, no longer understanding the language.

"Eh? Really?"

Everybody soon started looking towards the corner once more again.

"Hey, isn't Murasakibara also good at cooking too?"

"They are aren't they?"

"Hey, can you guys be our cooks?"

"Can you first do a test before we put them in charge?"

"I really don't trust them."

"They don't look like much."

Mai really didn't care much if they spoke about her and being weak, timid and scared girl.

But she couldn't stand being insulted in the only thing she loved.

Slamming her book down, looking up and yelled.

"I-IF YOU WANT A T-TEST THEN F-FINE! I-I'LL BR-BRING SOMETHING IN!" Everybody was shock at the girl standing up and yelling.

The homeroom teacher smiled, "Alright, just bring it in tomorrow and we can all discuss this."

Blushing bright red, Mai sat back down, looking at her lap as the students whispered to themselves before paying back attention to the details of the festival and decorations.

The male who sat next to her had been shocked as well, though he didn't show it but seeing the girl he thought was weak suddenly have guts to yell about her being insulted about cooking, it had made him want to go and eat but also, it made him respect the girl a little bit, though her stuttering still annoyed him.

If it wasn't for the stuttering, he would probably had given her respect a long time ago.


	7. Strawberry Cake

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 7**

Mai flung herself onto her bed, letting out an annoy sigh.

"This isn't good at all." She muttered to herself. "WHY WOULD I DO THAT?" She screamed into her pillow as she rolled around her bed, feet hanging on the edge.

"Ne, Hiroki-san, do you think I should have gotten angry in the first place?"

Staring at the panda bear, Mai laid her head on her arms. Her green eyes stare deeply into the bear's eyes. "I am an idiot. Now the whole school is going to know." The girl whined as she rolled over her stomach and stared at the ceiling. "But what I am I going to make?" She then question.

"I know that it's going to be a cafe theme, so I should make a dessert, but what type of dessert should I make?"

The girl pounder to herself before she sat up and looked at the dressed chef, "Ne, Yuki-chan, we should make dumplings or monchi?" The girl question.

"I don't think so, maybe I should make something I have been making since I was little." The girl stated, tilting her head to the side.

Smiling a sad smile, Mai looked at the book case. "But, what was it?"

* * *

"So what are you going to be making us?" The elderly homeroom teacher asked as Mai entered the staff room. Mai looked at the floor, "A strawberry cake." She whispered.

"Ah, a simple but delicious cake." The male stated. Mai nodded her head.

"Alright, we will be going to the Home Economics class once the bell rings so you might want to go to the room now and start preparing." He said softly, a smile on his face.

Nodding her head, the female bowed and left the room.

* * *

Lazy purple eyes scanned the area, he really wasn't interested, but he wondered why their homeroom teacher had decided for all of the class to go to the HE classroom.

"Tch. She didn't even come," A girl started, throwing some locks to the back. "Yelling about bringing something, hehe, she might be crying in her room. Too scare to face everybody and her failures."

"I wonder why Coach Masako said that she is a great cook."

"Don't you know? Coach practically adopted her."

"EH? What about her family?"

"I heard the mother abandoned her."

"And what about the father?"

"He got into an accident."

"Really? I heard he forgot about the family?"

"Eh, didn't he walk out with another family when she was young?"

"I thought the mother kicked him out because of that?"

Many hushed voices between the females and some males were thrown back and forth as the class made its way to the classroom.

The purple haired giant was slightly surprised that many rumors had circled around about the girl in less than a day. But the rumors had become nastier as the students continued to speak.

The whispering began to slowly settle down as they began entering the room. His eyes caught the female in deep concentration. A white cake with strawberries on the side sat on the counter - the kitchen wasn't a big of a mess, only the used utensils sat on the sink - but her hands slowly worked her way around the top of the cake. Adding slices of strawberries in front of the white flowered icing on top.

Placing the strawberries with great care.

She then moved her hands to grab the white icing bag before placing it in the middle, her fingers pressured the bag, biting her lip, her eyes narrowed as she moved her arms slowly.

Purple eyes watched in fascination as he the female work. The small wrinkles her frown made, the small pout and the how she held her breath while pressuring the plastic icing.

Smiling a small smile, the girl places the bag to the side and places a last strawberry in the middle. "Done!" She said as she clapped her hands together. The cake in front of her was nothing fancy, but it looked edible and very delicious for the purple haired teen.

"Wow, it actually looks good." The same female stated.

Mai jumped, realizing she was no longer alone. "O-Oh, t-thanks." She muttered as she fiddled with her thumbs and looked away from the students.

"So are we going to eat it?" A male voice asked, advancing forward, making the black hair to step backwards a bit. "Y-yeah." She whispered.

Murasakibara could tell that the serene scene was shattered by the annoying classmates.

"Let me help you." The male representative stated as he moved forward as he helped Mai with getting plastic plates and forks as the female grabbed a knife and began cutting the cake slowly. Cocking his head to the side, Murasakibara sat in one of the tables all the way back, watching how the female breath slowly regaining her control on her shaking hands.

"Hmm, this is really good!" A female shouted.

"What, really?" A male said before taking a bite from his cake. The male representative continued to hand plates to his classmates. The teacher was smiling happily as he also took a bite of the cake. Many giggles and comments flew around the room.

"Well, Hotaru-san showed us what she can cook, so she will be the one who will lead in the cooking the desserts." The representative stated.

Mai nodded her head and headed towards the male, a plate on her hand. "U...um, Murasakibara-kun. I saw you d-didn't get a cake. So...here." She whispered, looking to the floor before peaking up to look at the lazy male.

Grabbing the plate, Murasakibara nodded his head as a thanks. Mai flashed a nervous smile and quickly ran towards the sink and began washing the dishes.

The male looked at the cake, a half of silence of a strawberry sat on top of the white icing.

Taking the small fork in his large fingers, he brought the piece to his mouth. The sweet and soft icing melted in his mouth. The bread was fluffy, soft and tasted just like strawberry, melting in with the icing.

Humming, purple eyes wandered back to the back haired girl who was talking to a group of people about what seem a list.

She looked to the list and frown, about to argue, a girl with blond locks came up to her and said something. Mai winced and nodded her head and accepted the list with a weak smile.

* * *

Mai sat on her desk, rolling her pencil to the side as she ignored the math lecture that the teacher was explaining about.

She then glances at the paper sitting on the edge of her desk, she pouted.

'Now they know I can cook, giving me a big list of desserts. Who do they think they are?! This can't be rushed.' Mai thought sourly but even so, she couldn't hate the students. They wanted to win for prize the student council set up.

Hiding her face in her arms, Mai closed her eyes.

She disliked them all but she couldn't hate them. For some reason she just couldn't even if they pushed her to do what they wanted, especially the blonde.

Hearing something hit her table, Mai looked up and saw a small chocolate bar sitting on her side. Blinking her green eyes, Mai pushed her bangs behind her ear as she grabbed the bar with her thin fingers. Looking to her side, she saw the male unwrapping a chocolate bar before popping it in his mouth, not looking at her. Smiling a little, Mai looked at the chocolate before carefully unwrapping it and putting it in her mouth before laying her head back on her arms.

* * *

"Yuki-chan~" Mai whined as she threw her books on the table, the bear sat on her chair.

"I have to cook so much, I think I am going to die!" Mai continued.

Her bangs were clipped in place, as she picked up a book and began reading it, "What they want me to make, they are crazy." She mumbled as she grabbed a pencil and began scribbling something down.

Humming to the soft tunes playing on her computer, Mai continued to read before a soft ding interrupted the music before allowing to continue once more.

Curious, Mai placed the book down and moved towards the desk and opening the message.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: Cake**

**cake was good. make some more.**

Blinking her eyes, Mai wasn't sure how to react at the message before an unconscious smile found her way towards her lips.

**To: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**From: Firefly_Mai .net**

**Subject: re:cake**

**If only you help with the cultural festival.**

Mai wasn't really terrified of the giant but she still felt scared that if she made a wrong move, he would indeed crush her.

A ding interrupted her thoughts.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: re:re: Cake**

**dunno...too much work.**

Mai chuckled at the respond, before she realized that the sound did come out of her mouth, become surprised she shook her head and typed her message and then stood up, not expecting a message.

**To: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**From: Firefly_Mai .net**

**Subject: re:re:re:cake**

**then you will wait like the rest.**

Hearing another ding coming from the computer, Mai eagerly moved to the computer and read the message.

**To: Firefly_Mai .net**

**From: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**Subject: re:re:re:re: Cake**

**fine.**

Letting out the laugh that was bubbling inside of her, she could imagine the narrowed and annoyed purple eyes as he typed that word.

**To: Murasakibara_Sweets .net**

**From: Firefly_Mai .net**

**Subject: re:re:re:re:re:cake**

**Looks like we're partners again.**

Sending the message she closed the laptop and quickly moves to the bookcase and starts looking at her recipe books and began pulling them out and she hummed to a tune that played in her head.

* * *

_"Daddy, I will become the top chef, pastry and food wise!" The seven year old girl said as she hugged two thick recipes book._

_Letting out a laughter, the black hair male patted her head. "Okay, I'll await for your name to pop in the top chef magazines."_

_"Takumi, please don't make her get an ego." A young Masako said._

_The male known as Takumi just laughed, "Come on Araki, she won't become like that."_

_"Araki-Nesan, can we go to the pastry shop near your place?" The small girl asked._

_"Of course, tonight you spend the weekend with me right?" Masako stated. The small girl nodded her head. "Then go get your bags ready."_

_"Kay." The girl said as she ran upstairs giggling._

_"She seems happy."_

_"Happier when she stays with me."_

_"When are you going to take her away from Yasu?" The female asked as she sipped her cup of tea. The male sighed. "I am looking at ways for me to do so but she is just making it hard for me to do so."_

_"I hate it when I see her come to me looking upset and bruised up." Takumi said._

_"Well, at least we are getting something done." Masako stated._

_"If something ever happens, please take her away from Yasu, I am afraid she will end up hurting her badly." Takumi pleased._

_"Don't worry, I will do everything I can to keep her away, but please don't talk like that. Nothing will ever happen to you."_

_"You don't know Yasu." The male muttered darkly._

_"No one does."_

_With that, the conversation ended and young Mai came jumping down. "Daddy there is a frog on the window side." The girl squealed, her cheeks red and a smile plastered on her face. Green eyes shining brightly, like emerald._

_"Really now? Well show me." Takumi said as he watched the girl quickly motion for him to follow him upstairs. Masako watched the girl move happily even when she knew she was abused by her mother. A sad smile spread her lips before she stood up and followed the daughter and father._


	8. Chocolate Pudding Shared

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 8**

Masako frowned at the missed messages.

It made her blood boil as she began reading them.

_"Slut"_

_"Whore"_

_"Die"_

_"Hey let's have fun, if you know what I mean."_

_"Loser"_

Closing her laptop she sighed.

"Hey, Araki-nesan, I was wondering what you wanted to eat?" The girl asked, popping her head out of the kitchen.

The elder female looked up to see a dull shine of green eyes. "How about that curry, you haven't made that in a long time."

"Hmm...Okay, I am going to check if we have the ingredients." With that being said, the girl happily went back to the kitchen.

The female coach, eyes went back to the closed laptop. She was glad that the principle made her another account with the same username.

Mai would have gone in another attack or freaked out about the comments. She was too naive and Masako was slightly at fault to it.

Trying to protect her, even with her blocked memory, from the nasty comments was slowly becoming hard. But how longer would that last?

"Araki-nesan, I am going to the store, there are some things I need to buy." The girl stated, breaking the female from her thought. "Hm, alright." Masako answered with a slight smile. "Why don't you rest for a while? I'll call you when the food is read, you seem dead tired."

Mai stated as she put on her light brown wool sweater.

"I will, I just need to finish some paper work."

"Geez, its break, you still have tomorrow, take a break."

"Alright, I will." The elder said, standing up from her chair.

Smiling brightly, Mai nodded her head, "Good, will I'll be back."

"Have your phone?"

"Yes."

"Keys?"

"Sure do."

"Money."

"Of course."

"Alright, don't get lost."

"I-I won't!" The younger girl shouted, turning bright red.

Masako chuckled and nodded her head as she watched the girl wave goodbye and left the house. Leaving her to think about the messages. People sure can be nasty.

* * *

Green eyes scanned at the names as she hummed along to the music that played through her earphones.

Mai bit her lip as she grabbed at one of the flour brands and compared them with the other bag in her hands.

"I should get this one." The girl muttered to herself as she set one of the flours back on the shelf and the other in her shopping cart and continued down the aisle to complete her shopping.

After finishing her shopping, Mai walked out with bags in both hands, along with a box of strawberry pocky.

"Now, let's go home." The girl muttered as she made her way down the busy streets of Akita. Friday was always more busy and more annoying.

Mai ignored the small talks males made as she passed them by. Seeing her favorite store she hurried and peeked through the glass, looking at the many colorful and different sizes of cakes.

"Eh, Taru-chin?" A familiar voice caught her attention. Looking up she was met with purple lazy eyes. Cocking her head to the side she blinked.

"Taru-chin, what are you doing here." He asked as he looked at the shorter girl in front of him. The girl blinked and looked around before looking back up at Murasakibara. "Shopping." She stated.

It was weird her to hear the male talking to her like it was normal.

The male looked down and saw the bags in her hands and a box of pocky. He nodded his head and went back to looking at the window side. "They look delicious." The male stated. Mai smiled softly and nodded her head as her gaze returned back to the window.

"You want to buy one?" The girl asked.

"I don't have enough money for one." The male pouted.

Laughing lightly, the girl spoke softly. "We can pay half for one."

The male thought about it before he looked down. The soft smile looked good on her. The ease of her tone was more pleasant than the stuttering. "Ah! B-but that's if you want!" The girl stated. A light blushed raised to her face and a nervous smile replaced the sincere smile, feeling embarrassed about her blunt comment.

'Ah. She ruined it.' Murasakibara thought to himself.

"Sure." Murasakibara responded.

Mai's smile returned.

Both teens entered the small shop, Mai as a little hyper kid but the bags in her hands weighed her down.

"Give me." Murasakibara stated.

"E-eh?" Mai sounded off, as she stared at the male's giant hand reaching towards her.

"The bags." The male stated. Mai slowly and hesitantly handed the bags to the male who held them in one hand and carried them as they didn't weigh anything.

"Thank you." She muttered quietly before she eagerly ran in front of the cake display, Murasakibara following behind her.

Both teens looked at the display of variety before they settled with chocolate pudding with whip cream on top.

"Hm, this is yummy." Mai sang softly as she took into another bite of her dessert. The male nodded his head. The sugary sweet melted in his tongue with a soft cream coaxing the tongue for more.

There was no need for words as they ate in silence.

"Thank you, please come again." The female behind the cash register said. Both teens bowed to her before she left the small shop.

Both teens walked by side, "U-Um, Murasakibara-kun, can I have the bags back?" Mai asked, looking at the taller teen. Murasakibara shook his head, "I'll walk you home." The male teen stated.

"Eh?" Mai let out but Murasakibara said nothing after that.

Sighing, Mai accepted the offer and walked silently by his side as she played with the loose thread from her sweater.

"Have you decided for the cafe thingy?" The male suddenly asked.

Mai jumped slightly as the sudden voice broke the silence around them.

"Well, f-from the list I was given. I have narrowed them down t-to five simple desserts that can taste really delicious." The girl said softly, a smile spreading on her face as she spoke about the desserts she chosen.

"Hm, are they hard?" The male asked.

Mai let out a soft laughter and shook her head. "N-No." She whispered.

Murasakibara looked through the corner of his eyes, the girl he saw seemed confident even with the stuttering. Her smile was very soothing.

Murasakibara return his gaze back at the streets.

"Hope so, I don't like too much work." He muttered.

"D-don't worry," Mai said, "most of the food w-well be made a day earlier." She stated.

"Hmm." The giant hummed as he followed the girl now into an emptier street and cozy homes coming to a view.

Coming to a stop in a small home, Mai smile. "Well, this is the place I am staying, I think you know who this place is." She muttered as she accepted the bags. Murasakibara nodded his head.

Digging through her bags, she pulled out a box of pocky. "Here." She said. The male gladly accepted the box with a smile.

"W-well, have a safe trip back to the dorms." She whispered.

Muraskibara nodded his head as he watch the girl turn around and hurry to the apartment but before she completely went inside he spoke.

"I would like to see you cook again." The male stated before he turned around and walked away.

Mai froze at the comment and quickly turned around with a deep blush on her face as she watched the male walk away.

Yeah, the male was going to be the death of her. Especially not knowing what his thoughts about her consisted with.


	9. Uncertain Feelings

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 9**

After the small break students return back to school, excited about the cultural festival - that was less than few weeks away and preparation was keeping every student busy - making any after school activities come to a halt.

"Ne~ Hotaru-chan, we should get going and buy the ingredients and utensils." A sweet voice stated, breaking Mai from her thoughts. Looking up, the shy female pushed her bangs to the side and looked at clear blue eyes that looked down on her.

"Uh...sure." She whispered.

"Okay, let me gather the rest of the people that are going." With that, the blonde female left, leaving a confuse girl sitting to herself.

Placing her belonging in her bag, she took the list in her hands and stood up.

"Hi! Satoshi-chan told me that you are coming, good, we need someone to hold our bags." A brunette stated, smiling big. Mai winced but nodded her head as she looked at the smaller girl.

"Eh, Hiyori-chan you weren't supposed to say that!" Another girl whispered to the brunette as she eyed Mai, covering her mouth and giggled as she walked away with the girl name Hiyori.

Mai sighed and rubbed her wrist, biting her bottom lip as she cast her eyes down.

"Hotaru-chan, let's go!" The blond girl yelled. Mai took a deep breath before she forced herself to move towards the three girls and two guys.

Mai walked from behind, hiding her face with her bangs as she watched the group in front of her shout and laugh with each other.

"Eh, Taru-chin, where are you going?" A voice asked. The female looked up and saw the purple hair male walking out from the room with papers in his arms. The group stopped when they heard the familiar name being called out.

"Going w-with the group to buy the stuff we need." Mai said, a nervous smile found the way her lips. Murasakibara frowned at the comment and looked at the group, the males and two of the girls looked nervous at the stare.

"Hmm..." He hummed. His eyes rested on the blond female who didn't bother looking at him.

"Taru-chin, let me see your phone for a bit." He asked the female. Confused, Mai nodded her head and grabbed the scrolls of papers from his arm and handed him her phone.

The male flipped it open, typed quickly and closed the phone before handing it back to the female. Grabbing the papers back and patting her on the head. "Careful Taru-chin." The male stated before he eyed the group one more time and left.

Mai was confused by his actions but she quickly flipped her phone open. From having three contact, two more had been added. Feeling calmer, Mai closed her phone and quickly caught up to the moving group who had become at ease as the giant left.

* * *

Moving the shopping cart down the baskets of fruits, Mai inspected them carefully as she ignored the two brunettes whispering amongst themselves. The taller female didn't bother in trying to talk to them and continued her shopping, hoping to get things finished quickly and return back to the school.

"So, Hotaru-chan, since when have you been cooking?" Asked the short hair brunet. Mai glanced to her side and allowed her eyes to go back to the box of strawberries in her hands. "Since I could remember." The female murmured.

"Huh? Can't you speak louder?" Hiyori asked.

Biting her lip, Mai looked at the girls, clearing her throat. "Since I can remember." She repeated louder.

Hiyori smiled. "Ah." She sounded. Mai nodded her head and went back to the fruits as she moved along.

Asami, Mai believed was her name, continued with her questions.

"So, is it true Coach Masako is taking care of you?"

Mai nodded her head, "She is the only guardian that I know of still alive."

"Eh, what happen to your family?" Hiyori asked, Mai could tell the concern voice she put on was too thick and very fake.

"I...I actually don't remember who they are." Mai stated as she put down the box of blueberries in the shopping cart as she tried on control her shaking.

Hearing snickering, Mai hide behind her bangs and moved forward.

"So...what's your relationship with the purple giant?" Hiyori then asked.

Mai frowned at the comment but continued to look forward. "We...we are friends I can say." She whispered.

The long haired girl rolled her eyes and walked in front of the cart, making Mai stop. "Look here freak, I don't trust you but Satoshi-chan does and the class rep, but I don't nor do the others. So you better not fuck this up." Hiyori stated as she glared at Mai, who winced and nodded her head.

Smiling her approval the female backed away, "We'll, while you finish shopping, we are going to flirt with the boys." The girl stayed as she threw her hair back and waved with her fingers and walked away with the other brunette.

Mai was upset.

Upset that she knew she was being used but couldn't do much.

Letting out a shaky breath, Mai rubbed her wrist for a minute and continued her shopping, ignoring the tight constriction in her chest.

* * *

Mai allowed a long sigh to leave her dried lips as she laid in bed. Her green eyes stared deeply into black ones. "Momo-chan, I sometimes wonder why I can't remember my parents." The girl stated as she looked at her pink stuffed elephant who sat in the middle of the panda and polar bear.

"Why is it so hard trying to be friends with others?" She then asked. "I didn't do anything wrong." Mai continued as she buried her face onto her covers. "Why does my chest hurt?"

"Why do I feel like I been told a freak? It feels so familiar...but...but I can't remember where I have been told that." The girl continued.

"Please tell me Momo-chan, why is it so familiar? Why can't I remember?" The girl cried as she hugged her shaking body.

"Why?" She muttered.

* * *

"Alright, we only have a few days before the festival starts, so please finish your last touches." The elderly homeroom teacher said as he dismissed the students.

Everybody soon became busy with something. Mai watched from her desk as she laid her chin on her palm.

All she was needed was for her cooking skills and that was about it. There was nothing more to do then cook.

"Hotaru-chan, can you please come with me." A voice broke her thoughts.

Nodding her head, the female stood up and followed the blond girl. "Since the menus for the cafe are finished and you already started with some of the desserts, I think it's time for the measurement for you?" Satoshi stated as she walked with grace.

Mai looked at the female confused. "Measurements?" She asked.

"Of course, not only will you be cooking, you will also bring the attention of the guest." the blonde stated.

Mai nodded her head and accepted her job. "A-alright."

Both girls stopped in front of the theater room and entered, "Hana-san, we have only one more person to get her measurements done." The girl announced as she stepped inside the room. The black haired girl followed her quickly, ignoring the stares of her height.

Oh how she sometimes wished she was short, then she wouldn't be getting all the attention all the time.

"Oh, okay. Just wait a minute, we are measuring someone at the moment." A short girl said as she came out from the curtains.

"Alright, well, I need to do some other work." Satoshi stated as she bowed and left. Hana smiled and nodded her head and return back inside the curtains.

Mai awkwardly stood there, gripping her wrist tightly.

"Alright." A voice drew her attention as she watched the purple hair teen walk out of the curtain as he put his blazer on. Mai blinked her eyes before she understood that he was also being forced to dress. With his size and the purple hair, he would attract many customers.

"Oh, Taru-chin, you're here." Mai nodded her head.

"Hi Murasakibara-kun." She muttered, relaxing a bit.

"Are you also getting measured?" The male asked as he walked towards her. The female nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll wait for you." The male stated as he took out a bag of chips and began eating.

"Um...thank you." The girl whispered as she was soon pulled away from the girls to get her measurements.

Murasakibara looked stared as he watched the girl pulled. He had grown slight worry ever since he saw her that day go out with the group to shop. He had yet been able to talk to her -since the class representative continued to bribe him in helping with difficult tasks for him to do.

Annoyed, the male glared at the air as he waited. He could tell the girl seemed more anxious and he didn't like it one bit. Especially that blond female.

For some unknown reason, the purple haired teen started to become protective of the girl. He wanted to see her soft relaxed smile instead of the nervous one. Wanted to see her sincere expression as she concentrated while she worked on the dessert she proudly made.

Ah, he wasn't feeling right.


	10. Nickname

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 10**

"Um...Murasakibara-kun, do you want to help me start the baking?" Mai asked.

The cultural festival was the following day and the female wanted to get ahead and begin cooking. She felt confident in her cooking skills that people would most likely want more.

"Hmm...Alright." The male stated as he looked to his side.

It was the last class of the day and most of the students would either stay and finish last touches or go and rest up.

"Alright." The girl smiled as she pushed her bangs to the side.

Mai slowly started to show more her face around the male and Murasakibara was actually glad he could her face instead of her covered face.

Laying on head on his arms, he stare lazily at the board and drowned out the teachers voice, the lack of sweets made him more tired and irritated.

Feeling something poke him he looked to his side a small of chocolates. Looking at the owner of the outreached hand, he saw Mai smiling at him shyly.

"You'll like them." She whispered.

The male nodded his head and grabbed the foreign chocolates.

Unwrapping the small round red chocolate, he stared at it before popping it in his mouth. The chocolate was creamy and when he bit into the ball, warm liquid soon filled his mouth.

A lazy smile appeared in his face as he opened another chocolate filled ball into his mouth.

The girl besides him giggled softly at his expression.

* * *

"Um…Murasakibara-kun...um is it okay if I can shorten your name?" Mai asked quietly as she put on the white apron. The sat in front of the counter, his chin resting on his palm, lazy eyes followed the female's movements.

"Sure." The male stated.

Mai smiled, Okay...hmmm...how about Murasaki-kun? Or Sushi-kun, since you have that in your name when written in English right?" The girl giggled as she began gathering the ingredients and placing them in front of the male.

Murasakibara didn't speak but watched.

"Well…" Mai began to speak, pulling her hair into a messy bun and clipping her bangs to the side before looking at Murasakibara, "can I call you Mura-kun then?" She asked.

The male nodded his head, not really caring what he was called.

"Alright then!" Mai clapped her hands together before she moved towards her bag and brought out papers and placed them on the counter near the lazy teen.

"Okay, let's start with the pudding." Mai muttered to herself as she looked at the recipe and nodded her head in confirmation as she scanned the ingredients on the list and on the counter.

Moving quickly but with grace, Murasakibara watched as she stirred ingredients in one bowl to another. Her thin fingers held the whisk lightly as she stirred the chocolate content inside the bowl.

Her green eyes focused inside the bowl as she bit her lip.

Murasakibara was in a daze as he saw her move, holding herself in confidence and pride as she left one bowl and turn to another bowl and repeated the same process.

With three bowls finished with pudding Mai sighed in content as she took the whisk and with her finger, she took some chocolate pudding and brought it to her lips. Licking creamy texture, she smiled in content. "Hmm, delicious." She said happily.

"Can I try?" The male asked. Mai jumped.

"A-ah...I forgot you were here…" Mai said as she looked at the male.

Murasakibara blinked his eyes. "Really?"

Mai nodded her head as she grabbed a plastic cup and a spoon and served the male the pudding. "Here." She said as she handed him the cup, the male happily received the cup.

"I tend to forget what's around me when I cook." The girl stated with a sheepish smile. The male nodded his head and took the small spoon in his big fingers and began eating the pudding.

Cool smooth texture danced in his tongue as he swallowed the treat.

"This is good…" Murasakibara stated as he continued to eat the pudding. "That's good then." Mai stated as she began putting the bowls plastic wrap.

"Um...Mura-kun," Ma began as she began washing the dishes, her back facing the entertain male and his treat.

"Do...you think you can help me take these to my room?" Mai asked.

"Sure." The male mumbled.

"Thank you." The girl said softly as she continued to wash the dishes.

* * *

"W-What is that?" Mai squealed as she stared at the costume that was hanging on the hanger in the back of the classroom.

"Your costume you will be wearing this later when you are on your break." The small female stated.

"B-but why?" Mai question.

Hana giggled and handed her a small packet. "Here, read this and you will understand." The girl stated.

Mai grabbed the packet and scanned through it, her mind was becoming clouded by the second. Her nervous began eating her from the inside.

"Do...do I have to do this?" She asked weakly.

"Mm, it's to get more votes." Hana stated. Mai laughed weakly and muttered to herself a small yay as she left the room and headed towards the Home Economics to begin preparing the desserts before the festival actually began.

"We need more of velvet pancakes topped with raspberry and strawberries, as well the chocolate pudding whip cream topped with cherries." A female stated as she looked from her phone.

Nodding her head, Mai hurried in creating more stacks of small pancakes before handing them to another female who stacked three pancakes and added the topping on top and pouring the requested flavor. On the other side, two other students began the chocolate pudding.

A medium plastic cup that held butter cream cookie crumbs, sliced cherries on the second layer which followed by the chocolate pudding and topped with soft white whip cream and a full cherry on top.

"I am here for the desserts." The lazy voice boomed the fast moving room.

Different classes had separated the room that used the kitchen. Murasakibara and two more males walked towards the counter that Mai and three other girls as the handed them to the boys who stacked them inside the boxes they carried back and forth.

The process continued till break for Mai, who was too reluctant to change.

"Please Hotaru-chan, leave it to us. You already show us the process." Satoshi stated as she assured Mai.

Mai bit her bottom lip and nodded her head. "I-it's not that I trust you...i-it just I actually enjoy cooking and this...this is something I want to do to help the class." Mai muttered quietly.

"Don't worry, after your break, if you still want to continue cooking you can." The blonde female stated.

Taking a deep breath, Mai gave in and smiled weakly at the girl as she pull her hair out from the messy bun. "O-Okay." She said.

"Well now go, Hana-chan is going to help you get into your costume. We need bring in more people." The female stated as she began pushing the taller girl.

"Y-yeah...that." Mai muttered as she dragged her feet out of the room and began heading towards the theater dressing room leaving a smiling blonde.

"This...this is ridiculous." The girl muttered to herself as she stepped out of the dressing room.

"Oh don't worry, you look fine." The short brunette stated.

"Still…" Mai muttered as she looked down on the purple and black gothic Victorian Lolita dress. It felt heavy and itchy.

"Okay, you are ready, makeup and hair, check." Hana continued as she looked at Mai before nodding her head. "Now, you did read the packet right."

Mai nodded her head as she fiddled with lace choker.

"Y-yeah but do I have to do this?" Mai question.

Hana giggled, "You complain sure do complain when it comes to these types of events." She stated but before Mai could even ask what she meant, she was being pushed out.

"Just remember what it said and don't freak out too much when things start to roll." Hana stated.

Mai gave in and nodded her head as she grabbed the skirt and picked it up to walk without tripping.

"Okay, well bye and enjoy~" The female sang as she closed the door from the dressing room and moved to another girl.

Mai began mumbling under her breath about escaping and the consequences that she didn't notice the male room door open and a lazy giant coming out annoyed.

"Oh, Taru-chin." Murasakibara stated as he walked out the room.

The female snapped out of her thought and blinked at the male. "Mura-kun…what are you wearing?" The girl asked.

The male lazily looked down and shrugged his shoulders.

"I was promise sweets if I dressed like a ninja." The male stated. Mai nodded her head.

"Okay…" The girl stated before looking back down to her dress and slumped her shoulders. "This is stupid." She muttered.

The male behind him hummed as he looked around.

Beginning to walk towards the courtyard, she could hear heavy footsteps beside her. Looking to her side, she blinks, "Mura-kun?" She questioned.

"I was told to follow you and follow the packet thingy." The male stated.

Mai nodded her head as she figured what he meant.

"Do…do us really have to do this?" The girl asked. Murasakibara shrugged his shoulders as he ate pokey.

Mai figured the male wouldn't have cared, just as long he had received his payment of sweets.

As both students stepped out to the Yosen courtyard, they could see many stands and students working. Visitors making their ways around.

Mai let out a nervous laugh as she became pale.

"Taru-chin? The male question as he looked down to see a very tense Mai.

"N-n-n-no!" The girl squealed.

"I…I can't do this." Mai whispered as she scanned the crowd.

Murasakibara blinked his eyes as Mai slowly went from comfortable to scare less than a minute.

"Ah…nnn…nope." The girl muttered as she kneeled down and covered her face.

Cocking his head to the side, Murasakibara looked at the girl confused. "Hortaru." Murasakibara stated Mai looked up. Her green eyes were teary.

"Breath." He stated.

Mai swallowed the hard lump in her throat and nodded her head as she began to breathe steady.

"Okay now?" The male asked as he held his hand out the help her up.

Mia accepted his hand and stood up. "I…I will be." The girl muttered as she clenched the skirt tightly as she looked on the floor. Murasakibara just frowned and looked around.

"Let's get sweets." The male stated as he grabbed her arm and began dragging her to a stand.

Mai struggled to keep up, confused as to why Murasakibara was even continued to bother with her when she couldn't even handle her own in big crowds.

Coming to a stop, Mai looked at the stand, the students were selling dango. She felt the taller male let go of her wrist, Mai blinked at the sweet in front of her, Mai looked at Murasakibara as held her the small plate with dango for her as he ate his own.

Grabbing the plate, Mai ate the dango in silence as she began walking beside Murasakibara.

Her nervous calming down a bit.

"Thank you." She said as ate slowly.

"Hmm." Murasakibara hummed.

Silence settle between them as Mai followed the tall male around the food stands. Her nervous had become calmed.

As they stood in a stand that students were selling taiyaki, Mai felt a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the taller male and covered her mouth as she was dragged away.

Murasakibara finished buy the food and turn around only to find an empty spot.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Murasakibara-kun, it's time." A male came from behind him, dressed in the same attire as the male. Murasakibara nodded his head, his eyes narrowed at the comment.

Ah, more work to do and Mai wasn't there to help.


	11. Comfort

**Do not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 11**

"Please." Mai pleaded as she clenched the sides of her dress - standing up on the stage. Trying to surpass the stutters but her body trembled like a leaf under the spotlight.

"My dear princess," A male from her class began, dressed in elegant clothing, voicing his character lines as a rich and arrogant person would do.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she listens to the unfamiliar lines carefully and also had to improvise the lines like everybody else was doing - just so the hastily put on play could go smooth.

As she stood there under the spotlight, along with three other people, Mai observed them. Questioning why she was here. This was not her place - her place was in the kitchen, making sweet delicious cuisines instead of reciting lines from a play that she wasn't familiar with and had not practice.

Listening carefully, she analyzes the spoken words before she allowed the formed lines in her head leave her mouth. Mai struggled to keep up with her happy-go character that wanted to see the world. As well trying to keep her movements smooth and fluent but her shaking body made it impossible.

'How did everything come to this conclusion?' The female thought as she was grabbed by her wrist and pulled forcefully by the male character off the stage for the following seen. 'Oh right,' Mai answered as her green eyes met amused brown eyes.

After being kidnapped by Asami and Honda from the purple haired giant who was dressed as a ninja, Mai had almost entered into a panic attack but she had calmed down when Honda had apologized and comforted her before he had lectured her for not being in the right place. He was nice enough to forgive her and helped the shy female be filled in by her position about the play, "Ice Castle."

By the time her character was about to appear, Mai could feel mischievous stares from her back. Playing the main character made Mai nervous wreck. A runaway princess who bumps into two twin sisters who are witches that enjoy deceiving people, give the girl an adventure to a mysterious castle covered in ice to find the missing prince who was put into a deep slumber by the sisters so he can bring back spring from the eternal winter they have in the land.

During the breaks, Mai allowed herself to rest alone in the corner as she watched the two main culprits, Asami and Hiyori, which played the twins, whisper to themselves, fully amused eyes as they smiled at her innocently and their reassuring comments. Mai could say she was paranoid - not trusting them at all, but none the less, she had spoken to Honda who played the sleeping prince, who had helped her with her struggling parts and assured her she could do her best. But it was a living nightmare for Mai, standing in front of a lot of people, watching her struggle to keep the character in check - it was tiring her a lot.

* * *

Murasakibara was surprised when he saw the female be the main character in the play. His lazy purple eyes had become amused as he watched the female act terrible and struggled to keep her composer, as well keep her character in check. But after the play had ended, he had lost sight of her and he was once more told to work back in the café, bringing in curious guest and loading in the sweets.

But with the festival now finished, he trudge his way towards the HE classroom to get his treat but instead, he saw the female rolling a pen on the tabled, her chin resting on her palm and her hair hiding her face.

He could tell something had happen and it seemed that she was tense and very upset about it.

Entering the room without announcing his presence, he dragged a chair, the male sat across her. He rested his chin on his arms.

"Taru-chin?" He question. Mai looked up from her distraction, peeking through her bangs; the male could see her green eyes were puffy and red. "Mura-kun…" The girl hoarsely whispered a tight smile plastered her dry lips. The male frown at the female, reaching forward, he pinched her cheeks making the girl wince. "OW!" She screamed.

"Don't smile if you don't want too." The male stated as he let go of her red cheeks. Mai slowly nodded her head and rubbed her hurt cheeks, a small pout on her face.

Silence had settled between them, but they could hear the rest of the school happily celebrating outside of the classroom, readying them for the bon fire that would be turn on once the sun was gone.

It was a few minutes before the female got up, tying her hair into a messy bun and took out ingredients from the workstation that her classroom had.

The only movements were Mai's as she began making pancakes from scratch; her tense body soon began to relax. Murasakibara could only take in her movements. Swift and smooth, unlike how she stood on stage, reciting lines like a foreign language.

He could tell she was made to work in the kitchen and nowhere else. It was her haven.

"Today…" She began to speak, slowing down her movements from the thick batter in the large bowl. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a bit before she continues stirring. "Today, someone from my past came." She stated.

Murasakibara stayed silent, taking in what she was saying as he watched her movements. Her face had become into a frown – filled in with annoyance and sadness.

"S-since, I don't remember much of my past…they…they told me they could help." She stated, moving towards the stove and turning it on and places a pan on it and spraying butter on it.

Hearing sizzling from the pan, Mai poured a bit of batter on the pan and watched it as the heat heated it, allowing for the yellow sticky liquid bubbled.

"I am happy…happy that there is someone out there…willingly to tell me." She said softly, her expression becoming soft, a sad soft.

The expression stirred something in the male but he didn't move from his position nor did he speak. He knew that she wanted to tell someone this but tell who? Everyone knew she didn't have any friends and his coach was her only guardian but it could have ended badly with this conversation. Everybody in the basketball club could tell that the female couch had a very soft spot for the female and she would probably demand to know who this person was that knew Mai.

Watching her flip the pancake, he could smell the sweet vanilla scent. The first half was a golden brown, looking very delicious to the male.

"They…want me to meet them up." She said, continuing backing.

"Hmm…" Murasakibara hummed.

"I am very curious but I am also very scared." She stated. Her green eyes narrowed at the food in front of her.

Silence once more settles between them besides the movement of clothing, the sizzling from the pan.

Once a pile of pancakes are stacked neatly in two plates, Mai turns the heat off and places her dirty materials on the sink, turning on the faucet and letting the water splash on the materials, enough for them to soak in and not get dried up.

Turning back to the food, she grabbed the cut up fruits, placing them on the plates before pouring strawberry syrup on top. Handing the plate to giant who was watching her, Mai smiled softly.

"So did you agree?" The male asked, shifting his heavy body to sit up properly, eagerly accepting the plate.

Mai shook her head no and sat across the male.

"If…if I wanted to know something, Araki-nesan would have already told me." The female stated softly. "Plus, if I can't remember, there must be a reason…right?"

The male nodded his head, he allowed his right arm to move forward and pat Mai on the head and allowing it to linger a bit before bringing it back to his side. "Also, hasn't Masako-chin stated not to talk to strangers?" The male question the female, Mai's eyes widen before she giggled.

"Y-you're right Mura-kun." The female stated.

The male nodded once more and began eating the fluffy pancakes in his plate, Mai soon followed. The atmosphere had become light and comfortable between them and it made Mai very happy and very thankful that the male had heard her out.

* * *

_"Oh look at her! She is so cute!" The female voice stated loudly as she carried the small newborn in her arms._

_"Mom, shut up." The female on the bed hissed. She was exhausted and in pain._

_"Oh come on darling, you have to admit, she is adorable." The elderly female stated as she smiled big at her granddaughter. "Oh how I missed carrying a child, I remember when you were small." She continued._

_"I don't have time for this mom, please let me rest." _

_"Oh hush now, you should be happy that you popped out a beautiful daughter! I bet her daddy is extremely happy." _

_"That man can take her away from me if he wants." The female on the bed muttered darkly, running a hand through her messy locks. Her green eyes eyed her mother and daughter._

_"Yasu, why has made you so cold?" The female's mother asked. "I thought having a child would bring you some sort of happiness or getting together with Takumi." _

_The female rolled her eyes, "I never wanted to get married and I never wanted a child and here she is! Because the man begged to me and you sided with him to keep the child." Yasu argued. _

_Her mother became sad. _

_"I wish you become happy again my child."_

_"All that can make me happy is the money, okay you old hag." Yasu stated throwing her arms up in the air. The elderly woman sighed and looked at the child sadly. _

_"My dear child, there is more to money." Her mom stated, "And you aren't going to be gaining a penny from your father's cooperation." _

_"Tsk, then I'll make my own and have it be better than his." Yasu countered. _

_Shaking her head sadly, the woman looked at the child and smiled bitterly before kissing her forehead and laying her on her crib._

_"I do hope that when Takumi leaves you, he takes her with him." With that Yasu's mother left the room leaving a fuming female. "Like hell he is going to take what's mine." She muttered darkly before glaring at the sleeping child. "Even if I hate her, she is mine to keep."_

_"You better be useful you stupid child because you are going to be bringing me in some cash once you can." The mother stated before lying down to sleep._

* * *

**_-After the Play-_**

"Is that you?" A male question Mai, making his way towards the black haired female who looked at the owner of the voice confused.

"Umm…excuse me…b-but who are you?" The female asked shyly.

"It's me, I am your mother's friend and the one that always paid attention to you when you got bored." The male stated happily, like a child that had found his favorite toy.

Mai shook her head and held her wrist tightly.

"S-sorry…but I don't remember." The female stated.

The male made a noise and frown, Mai winced at the stare. Feeling scared. Noticing that she had become scared, he quickly got rid of his frown and smiled at her.

"My name is Iwao Shigeo." The man introduced himself to her. Mai fidgeted under the stare. She felt uncomfortable being around him but she was dying of curiosity what her relationship was with him.

"Why don't we walk around the festival?" The male asked. Mai shook her head, "I-I have to go back on duty."

Green eyes met dark brown ones, "Come on, it won't take long. I can tell you more about back then." The male continued. Mai shook her head, "I am sorry…but I can't."

The male sighed. "Ah, well alright, well here is my business card, if you want to talk just call me." Iwao stated.

Mai grabbed the care cautiously and nodded her head. "Alright." She whispered.

With that Iwao left her standing from the theater looking at the card with great heaviness in her chest.

* * *

**_A/N: I am sooooo sorry! _I haven't been able to update due to school since its the end of quarter for me but I had finally gotten time to update! I hope you like it :3 Murasakibara sure can comfort Mai in his own weird way.**

**EminaRukiax: I am so glad to hear that you adorable and that I am not rushing this story! I hope you continue enjoying my story.  
**

**Independent Not in Love: Haha I am still thinking how I am going to make that happen - it will happen, probably when the Winter Cup comes? Maybe xD**

**Well, thank you for reading, I am sorry for the late update, but I'll once more get back to updating daily...so please enjoy and review :3**

**Bye- Lucy**


	12. Sweets Cure Pain

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 12**

The second day of November, it was too cold.

The crispy cold air hit Mai on the face or more so, slapping her as she shivered underneath her heavy layered clothing as she made her way towards the gym. After finishing her part in cleaning the classroom with her classmates, Mai had received a text message from her guardian.

Requesting for the female to go to the gym instead of heading home, which made the black hair girl whine at her phone and pout.

Shivering her way to the gym, Mai fought the urge to head towards her dorm instead. Wanting some sort of warmth instead of the bitter cold air that blew.

"T-This i-is s-st-stupid." Mai stuttered, rubbing her hands together to gain some ounce of warmth in them.

Pushing one of the double doors of the gym, Mai tried her best in stopping her chattering teeth as she approached the female couch, who was yelling something at the sweaty boys in the gym who tried gaining their breath.

"Okay, continue with the planned out exercise."

"Yes!"

With her command, they all scattered towards the court and began what seemed like a game.

"A-Araki-nesan." Mai yelled as she ran up to the female, hugging her from the waist, shivering against the warm body.

"Mai, I see you received my message." The elder stated as she patted the shivering girl.

Mai straighten up, as she pouted at the shorter woman. "A-Araki-nesan, d-do you know how cold outside it is?! I hate the cold!"

Masako rolled her eyes, "You'll survive."

Mai pouted at her guardian. "Anyways…" The girl started, her voice lowering as she began taking in her surroundings. "Why did you call me here?" She questioned.

"Because." Masako stated as she watched the first sting pass balls and practice their shots and blocking with the second string players.

"Because…" Mai stated, cocking her head to the side.

"I have this heavy feeling and I don't want you to go to the house." Masako stated, taking out her phone and frowning at the incoming called.

"Umm…okay?" Mai question, confused at the female's statement. She knew not to question her when the elder made a command.

"Anyways, I have to take this call, so make yourself comfortable and watch the boys practice or do something. " Masako stated as she began making her way out.

"B-But it is cold!" Mai complained.

"Then exercise." With that, Masako left the gym with the phone in her ear.

Mai gaped at Masako before she made her way to the far corner of the gym, away from the male players. Sulking that she just got brushed away and ignored.

'She tells me to come only to leave me.' Mai thought as she crouch on the floor, fiddling with her phone as she peeked at the players.

She didn't understand the sport, nor did she understand any other sport.

She lacked the motivation and the quality for being an athletic person.

Hearing the balls hit the floor and the squeaking of the shoes, it made Mai skin crawl unpleasantly.

Not noticing she was dazing off, she didn't hear the warning.

"WATCH OUT!"

Thump.

Hard and rough texture met Mai's nose, giving pressure on her face allowing her rear to hit the floor hard and her head to hit the brick wall hard.

"O-OW!" The girl screamed, her phone hitting the floor and her hands quickly reaching her face, her vision becoming blurry.

Feet rushed towards her, a male yelled out for the aid kit.

"Ah, are you okay?" A male question.

"Shit, coach is going to kill you."

"I-it wasn't my fault!"

"Ahhh, she is bleeding."

Mai couldn't concentrate in hearing the conversation surrounding her. She was breathing heavily and the pain was fogging up any thinking process she could try to think off.

"H-Hotaru-chan?!" A familiar voice ringed in her ears but she couldn't place the name as she watched from the corner of her eyes as the blurry figure came closer to her.

"Mauw fwash huts." The girl complain as she tried moving from her fallen position.

"Ah, don't move." The male stated as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Where is the damn aid kit?!" A loud gruff voice yelled, probably the captain.

"HERE!" Someone yelled as they hurried to both males and the female.

"Ah, that's a lot of blood." The student who had gotten the aid kit commented, seeing blood drip down from hand and to the floor.

"Oh shut up and give me the kit." Another person said as they snatched the box and handed to the closest. "Here Himuro, do what you need to do."

"Alright and can you back everyone away from here now?" The black haired male asked as he open the box and grabbed the towel he was offered by another student.

Kensuke and Kenichi began pushing the other players away from the scene, making them go back to playing basketball.

"Here is some water." Another male stated.

"Ah, thank you Wei Liu." Himuro stated as he gladly accepted the water and carefully helped the girl in front of him with her bleeding nose.

"OW!" Mai yelled again as Himuro placed pressure on her nose and titled her head back to stop the bleeding.

"Sorry Hotaru-chan."

"Huwgy up." Mai cried, her tears mixed with her blood. The male nodded his head and tried moving fast but it was difficult when he didn't know if her nose was broken or not.

"WHAT"S GOING ON?!" A female voice broke the tense silence.

Himuro and the others winced.

"Ah, coach…we have someone injured." Their captain stated as he tried distracting the female.

Masako raised an eyebrow and looked towards the somewhat crowded area. Her suspicious stare eyes them for a minute before it dawn to her that the person that got hurt was Mai.

* * *

Mai sat next to Masako in her office as she held a bag of ice on her face.

"I am so sorry!" The male in front of her bow.

"Ish okay." Mai muttered softly, even though she got hit by a ball that could have broken it or fracture it, it didn't, she couldn't hate him. It was an accident after all.

"But still, you got hurt." He urged.

Mai shrugged her shoulders, wincing a bit as she moved the icepack by accident.

Masako sighed, "You can take your leave and continue practice."

The boy nodded his head and left quickly.

"Honestly, I leave you for a while and you get hurt." Masako stated.

Mai sheepishly grinned.

"Anyways, stay seated here, I am going to go and watch the players."

"Okay." Mai said as she lean back on the chair. Masako sighed and patted her shoulder before leaving the office, leaving the door open.

Mai sat in the office by herself, listening to the buzzing sound of the fridge and the dripping of the sink.

"So much for being safe." Mai stated as she stared at the white ceiling.

"Taru-chin?"

"Huh?" Mai sounded off as she slowly looked towards the owner of the voice.

"M-Mura-kun?" The girl question at the blurry figure.

The male hummed as he took in the girl sitting on the chair. Mai was dressed in a white a baggy t-shirt and some gym shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail and a head band pushing her bangs back. Her hand held a pack of dripping ice on her face. Frowning, the male moved towards her.

"What happen?" He asked, walking up in front of her, blocking the light from her face.

"Accishdent." The girl stated, though the words came out slurred and mumbled.

"How?"

"Ball hit fash." Mai stated.

Hearing clothing ruffling and a bag, she felt a warm hand on hers. Allowing for the male to move the ice pack from her face. Leaning down, Murasakibara inspected her face.

Her swollen nose had bruised up. Seeing it become a dark bluish purple.

"It looks horrible." He stated.

Mai blinked her green eyes.

"How horruble?" She question, feeling a bit self-conscious as he stared at her.

"It looks fat and blue." Murasakibara lazily stated.

Feeling a pout form her lips, Mai pulled her hand from Murasakibara's and placing the ice pack back on her nose again as she looked away from the male.

"It'll get better."

"I know."

"Then don't pout."

"But I ams pain."

"So?"

"Yoush don't havsh burish fash."

Murasakibara didn't say anything, instead, he placed a light small box on the female's lap.

"Sweets can cure the pain." The male stated as he open his own bag of chips.

Mai blinked before she looked at Murasakibara, a small smiled formed her lips.

"Thancsh." Mai said, the male nodded his head and sat beside her, eating his chips.

The female inhaled deeply before she sigh and lean back on the wall. Letting her eyes close. 'Maybe I should rest a bit.' Mai thought, feeling more relaxed than before. Allowing for sleep to take her away, leaning on Murasakibara's shoulder, finding it warm and comfortable.

The male looked at her, removing the ice pack from her hand and placing it on the desk, leaving for the female to sleep while he continued to eat his bag of sweets.

* * *

"Yasu-chan, she has the same eye color as you!"

"Huh?" The female sounded off as she sat on her couch.

"Mai-chan of course~" Shigeo sang as he sat next to the female.

"Please do not mention her Shigeo."

"But Yasu-chan, don't you want to know where she is?" The male question, an innocent smile spread his lips.

"I already do."

"Huh? And you don't tell me where she went?" Shigeo question, becoming annoyed.

"There is no need to Shigeo. I plan for her to come to me, she doesn't remember right now but once she does, she will." Yasu stated as she grabbed her cup and took a sip from it.

"Ah, but she is my toy." Shigeo stated.

"That you had to pay for." The female reminded him.

"So? She will always be my beautiful doll toy. That day I saw her, I just wanted to take her away and keep her lock up~" The male stated as he undid his tie. "She looks so beautiful and so pure."

"Will you shut up now?" Yasu asked.

"Ah, but I can't. I want her, my dear Yasu-chan, make her come home soon." The male pouted.

The brunette shook her head, "In time my friend, in time."

"I hope so." Shigeo stated as he accepted the drink that the female poured him. Yasu just chuckled and continued drinking from her cup. Humming at the sound that played in the background.

* * *

**A/N: Hi hi! I hope you liked this chapter~**

**I want to say thank you to all my readers! I love you all and I want to give you big thanks for following and adding this story to your favorites, thank you3 Okay then, moving on, to my reviewers, thank you for leaving your comments, I enjoy reading them and just laughing evilly from behind my computer :D**

**Yes, Mai's mother is evil, you all should hate her because she is the main reason behind the plot...oops...spoiler? (Maybeee) :O Anyways, please review and till me what you think!**

**Also, you can now tell that I went back and edited as much as possible any grammar and spelling mistakes and that the summary is much better...er...yeah. Well anyways, thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoyed it!  
**

**Bye-Lucy ^^ **


	13. Cookies

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 13**

_"Mai, what have I told you about talking to strangers?" Takumi stated, picking up the seven year old girl who was pouting._

_"But daddy, she was nice to me and she let me pet her doggy." The girl stated._

_Takumi chuckled and nodded his head, "Yes, she was nice but not all people are like that sweetie." _

_Mai pouted, "They should be!" _

_"But they aren't, not the entire world is going to be friendly Mai, even if there so many out there that want it to be. In the end, there will always be bad people." Takumi said, walking around the park with the young girl in his arms. _

_Mai slowly nodded her head, "Just like mom?" She asked._

_Takumi smiled sadly, "Yeah, just like your mom." _

* * *

He watched her sigh again.

Touching her covered face before letting out a heavy sigh and hiding her face in her arms, Mai was very upset.

"Mura-kun, my face still hurts." She murmured in her sweater.

"Hmm…go to the clinic." Murasakibara stated.

"But they won't do anything."

"Then go to sleep."

"I'll get in trouble."

"I'll wake you up before you do." Those words left his mouth before he even realized that he even said them.

Mai giggled, "Really?" She whispered softly.

The male nodded his head as he watched the front with a lazy stare. "Sure."

"Thank you Mura-kun, I promise to bring you cookies later." She whispered, allowing sleep to take her.

Murasakibara wondered why he said that but he didn't mind. Watching the sleeping girl sleep through the corner of his eyes, her face soothing and relaxed.

Something that the giant has come to become fond of and with the promise of sweets, he didn't mind waking the female up before she got into trouble. Probably wouldn't mind distracting the teacher from paying any attention to her.

* * *

"Hotaru-chan," The familiar sweet voice had brought the dazed girl down to earth.

"Huh?" She sounded; her hidden green eyes met blue ones. "O-oh, Satoshi-chan…" She murmured.

After being woken up by the tall, he had left her to go buy something from the cafeteria for lunch break, leaving the female to herself in a half-sleeping state.

"Hi…um…can I ask you something?" The blonde female asked.

Mai nodded her head slowly, wondering what the female wanted with her. They barely spoke – well they didn't speak at all until the festival but even after that, they hadn't spoken.

"Y-yeah." She stated.

Satoshi smiled, "Well…you see…" She began, a light blush showed up on her face. "I was wondering if you would teach me how to…to bake something."

Mai smiled big, "S-sure. That is fine with me."

"Great!" The blonde stated, clapping her hands together.

"Do, do you want to start afterschool today?" Mai asked, moving a bit of her hair out of her face. The female nodded her head excited. "I love that."

"Alright then, I'll see you after school then."

With that, Satoshi nodded her head, a bright smile decorating her face. "Thank you Hotaru-chan." She said before leaving with her other friends that had return from the cafeteria.

"What was that about?"

Breaking her stare from the blonde and towards her neighbor, she smiled and eagerly answered. "She wanted me to teach her how to cook something!"

Murasakibara hummed before taking a sip of his chocolate milk, his purple eyes stared at the blonde.

"Make me cookies." He stated his eyes then met green eyes. Mai smiled more brightly, "Of course Mura-kun, I can't forget about your cookies, now can I?" She stated, brushing her bangs behind her ear.

Murasakibara nodded his head, liking her smile, except, he hated that bruise that was decorating her face.

* * *

Bidding goodbye to the male, Mai slowly made her way to the blonde who was patiently waiting for the female.

"Hotaru-chan, I am so happy you are helping me!" Satoshi stated.

Mai nodded her head, smiling softly at the female. "I-it's no problem, come on, let's head to the Home Economic room." She stated, making her way to the familiar room.

"I am really happy." Mai heard Satoshi state as she walked alongside the girl. "You see…I like this one person and I want to give him a gift for his birthday."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Mai stated.

Satoshi's eyes brighten with happiness, "You really think so?" The girl asked.

Mai nodded her head, "I think that if you create something for someone special, they would most defiantly feel how you feel and love it either way."

"That's good. Hiyori-chan and Asami-chan disagreed with me but I am glad you like my idea." Satoshi stated with an innocent smile, trying to surpass the blush that was easily notice in her face.

Both females talked with one another, making their way to the Home Economics. Mai felt comfortable as she spoke to the blonde. The uneasiness had slowly eased away and her worries about not trusting her disappeared.

The blonde was very nice and strict when it was needed but in all, she was sweet.

"Okay, first you have to put your hair up, not a single hair in the way." Mai stated, pulling her waist-length black hair into a messy bun and clipping her bangs.

"EH! What happen to your face?" Satoshi asked her eyes big as she stared at the bruise. Mai let out a sheepishly laugh, as she looked away from the girl.

"I…I got hit by a basketball." She whispered, "It was in accident and I spaced out, so I didn't hear the warning at all."

The blonde girl nodded in understanding, "Well, don't you have make-up to cover it?" She asked.

Mai blinked her eyes and shook her head, "Um…no…" She stated, looking like a lost child at the words.

"EH?!" Satoshi screamed. "What do you mean you don't have make-up?" The female asked.

Mai shrugged her shoulders, "I never learned how to put it on but I also don't talk to many people to bother looking pretty." She stated.

"Besides, I don't want people to like me for my looks; I want them to like me for my personality." Mai happily said.

Satoshi nodded her head, "Well…if you say so…but if you want to learn how to wear make-up, just tell me okay? I want to teach you! You have really beautiful eyes and a very well taken care of skin." The blonde stated a big smile on her face.

Mai blushed at the compliments, muttering a low thank you.

"Okay, we should continue." Mai hurriedly said, moving around the counter. "Let's begin with cookies!"

* * *

_"Yasu-chan, she is so pretty!" The thirty year old man said as he looked at the five year old who sat in front of the fish tank, looking at the colorful fish._

_"Yeah, yeah, what do you want Iwao?" Yasu asked her green eyes stared at the male in front of her._

_"I am bored, so give me something to do." The male stated._

_Yasu raised a prefect brown eyebrow, "Something to do? Do you know that you just finished a pile of paperwork for the company?" The female stated._

_The male nodded his head, "Yes, but it was so easy, I have done this before my dear Yasu-chan." _

_Yasu sighed as she looked at the male before her eyes wonder off to the child who was obediently sitting, not moving a single inch._

_"Mai, come over here." Yasu final spoke. _

_The small black hair looked over at her mother before she moved towards her, "Yes mommy?"_

_Yasu frowned at the words but didn't say anything. _

_"Pay me and I'll let you do whatever you want with her." The female stated, looking at Iwao straight in the eyes._

_The male was surprise but he knew that the female in front of him held no love for the child. The only thing she strived for was money and if she could make money out of her, she would most defiantly do it._

_"Yasu-chan…" the male stared. _

_Yasu smiled innocently, "What? I thought you were bored." She stated._

_Sighing, Iwao looked at Mai, who stood beside her mother's desk__, staring__ at the floor, not daring to look anywhere else._

_"Fine, I'll do it." The male stated._

_"Good, I am glad we can do business like this. I was thinking of doing this with the other stressed out __male employees,__ but right now, this could be a test…so you won't be paying for right now." The female stated. _

_"Hmm." The male hummed, thinking over what Yasu__ said__ but didn't bother to comment as he kept a steady gazed on the girl._

_"Well, Mai, you will be leaving with Iwao, so you better behave or else." Yasu stated._

_Mai jumped lightly but nodded her head. "Yes mommy." The girl responded._

_Iwao smiled at the girl, "Well, Mai-chan, let's get going!" _

_Mai __hesitated__, but the glare her mother threw her, she quickly moved and followed the elder male out of her mother's office._

_"__Mai-chan, we are going to have so much fun~" Iwao stated, as he held a hand towards the girl. Mai accepted it and followed the male._

* * *

**_A/N: Hello lovely readers~_**

**_I hope you enjoyed this lovely chapter which tells more of Mai's past! Also, to get out of the way, Mai is 5'8, 173 cm, tall for a Japanese girl, so now you know~_**

**_Okay, um...I have so many ideas for these two but I also don't want to rush them, so please be patient for the future fluff and more angst I have plan ahead, muwahaha! Also, who thought that Satoshi was the bad guy? Or is she? _**

**_Anyways, please review and tell me what you think~_**

**_Bye-Lucy_**


	14. Soft

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 14**

"Here are the dates for the exams you will be taking next week." The homeroom teacher stated.

Many groans sounded around the classroom, along with the shuffling of papers and the tapping of pencils.

"So please start taking good notes to study."

Mai could only stare at the date.

Physics, the first exam she had to do, her only subject that she struggles so much to understand but fails.

"Taru-chin?" The male besides her questioned her conflicted stare.

The girl hummed before looking at the male, "Yes Mura-kun?" She asked. Her conflicted eyes met his lazy ones.

"You look like you want to die right now." Murasakibara stated.

The girl weakly smiled, "Yeah...I really do." She stated before she laid her head inside her book.

Raising an eyebrow, the male stared at her for a minute before asking, "Why?"

"Because, my worst subject is the first exam we are taking." Mai pouted, turning her face to look at the male, who seemed amused by her pouting.

"You can study?"

"I always tried but I always score a 49 percent Mura-kun." The girl stated.

Murasakibara allowed a small-amused smile to play his lips before reaching forward and patter head.

"Ne, Mura-kun, what's your best subject?" The female asked, sitting up straight, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Murasakibara turned and looked at the board, "Physics." He uttered.

Mai nodded her head before returning her attention to the board, chin resting on her palm. It took her a moment before she reacted, "Whhaa?" She sounded, her chin slipped from her palm, turning back to see a very amused Murasakibara.

"Physics?" She question.

The male nodded his head, shuffling the papers in his desk before showing her the last test he took. Marked on the right top corner, a bright red 98 percent sat.

Mai had to blink twice to allow the information to sit on her. "Wow…" She mouthed.

She did not know that he could also be good in academics, but guess she was wrong.

Biting her lip, she rolled her pencil and looked away from Murasakibara, "Ano ne…Mura-kun…can you help me study?" Mai question.

The male looked at her for a moment from the corner of his eyes, "Sure, but I want sweets."

Mai giggled at Murasakibara's sweet tooth, though she could not say anything about it because she also had a sweet tooth that can compare to his.

"I'll have those foreign chocolates." She said excited.

Murasakibara nodded his head, "Okay." He said, before grabbing one of the cookies Mai had given him before class started.

Mai smiled big, liking the fact that Murasakibara enjoyed eating her sweets.

* * *

"You have to add this so you can have the velocity of this." Murasakibara stated, using his pointer figure to show Mai what she needed to add.

Mai frowned and looked at the many equations the male had written for her. To her surprise, for someone who was lazy and always sleeping in class, he was good in Physics.

Too good.

"I…I give up." Mai muttered her face met the cool surface of the table, letting her pencil to roll over and fall.

Murasakibara hummed, leaning back to stretch his arms. "We haven't even finished the first half Taru-chin." He stated, rubbing his eyes before he return back to his position, chin resting on his palm while his pointer finger tapped on Mai's scribbled paper.

"But…but it's too confusing." The girl whispered, allowing her check to touch the table as she watched Murasakibara's finger tap on the sheet of paper.

"Hmm…you are over thinking it." The male stated.

Mai huffed and stayed quiet.

Murasakibara found it amusing that the girl in front of him was giving up so easily. "Taru-chin," He murmured, stopping his tapping and instead, poked her forehead.

"Hmm." She hummed, her green eyes becoming sleepy.

"Don't sleep. We are studying." He stated in a bored tone but a small-amused smirk played his lips.

"But I am tired." She murmured, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head.

Murasakibara hummed, changing his position. Resting his chin on his crossed arms that laid on the table while he watched the black haired girl rub her eyes, wincing slightly over her still bruised face.

"Ne…Mura-kun, the Winter Cup is coming up right?" Mai asked, allowing a small yawn to leave her lips before she pulled a single strand of her hair behind her ear. Her green eyes turn to look at purple ones that hid beneath purple strands.

"Hmm…yeah, but we don't have to participate in the preliminaries." He said.

Mai nodded her head as she fiddle with her eraser. "So we are that strong?" She question.

"Yeah." The male stated.

Silence settled between them, Mai's green eyes wondered everywhere around the library before her mind curiously looked at Murasakibara's lazy eyes again, his stare had not left her.

"Do you ever pull you hair back?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

Murasakibara stayed quiet.

Mai pouted a bit, leaning forward and hesitantly moved her hand towards his head.

"Can I?" She asked awkwardly.

Murasakibara nodded his head slowly, watching the female smile weakly, allowing her thin warm fingers to run through his purple hair.

An awe expression spread through her face as she continued to run her fingers through his locks. It was soothing and relaxing. He closed his eyes, allowing the female play with his hair.

"Wow…" She whispered.

"Hmm?" He hummed, allowing himself to get comfortable.

"Your hair is so soft." She stated happily.

Opening one eyes, he saw the big smile he liked. Opening his other, he shifted his face to see her properly. Allowing her to touch the tips of his hair, pouting slightly before her green eyes met his.

"It's too soft." She murmured, before reaching her small pencil bag and getting lollipop bobby pins. Moving his bangs to the side and sliding the pins in place, allowing an amused smile play her lips.

"Cute." She whispered before giggling.

Murasakibara blinked his eyes; a soft smile spread his lips that hid behind his crossed arms.

So much for studying.

* * *

**A/N: CAN YOU SAY FLUFF?! LOL This scene has been playing in my head for this chapter all day and I am so glad I typed this properly! Haha I was going to add some angst but I was like naw...leave it for the next chapter :3 **

**Well please review and tell me what you think~ **

**Bye-Lucy**

**PS: Say aye if you want more fuffly scene that can make you die because they are too fluffy? :O**


	15. Horrible Liar

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 15**

_Mai-chan," Iwao said, looking at the nine-year-old girl who was badly bruise, his eye filled with worry._

_"Yes Iwao-san." Mai's hoarse voice asked looking at the elder male with tear stained face._

_"What have everybody done to you?" He asked._

_The girl sniffed, holding the male's hand tightly, "My whole body hurts." She whispered._

_Iwao felt anger boil inside him but he cannot do anything._

_"Iwao-san, when shall I see my daddy again?" She asked._

_It had been a few months since the Yasu had taken the child from her husband, banning him from getting near her._

_"Soon." He whispered._

* * *

"There!" Satoshi stated, closing the small compact mirror in her hands. "Like nothing ever happen."

Mai blinked her eyes and looked at the mirror on her right side. Her green eyes widen at the sign that there no longer a visible bruise on her face.

"Wow…that's as magic." She whispered.

Satoshi laughed at the girl's expression, "It's nothing much Hotaru-chan, it is just cover up." She stated.

Mai nodded her head slowly, before her gaze returned to the blond female. "Thank you." She whispered shyly, a small smiled on her lips.

Satoshi waved her hand, "It's no problem, I wanted to help you and plus, you helped me with my cooking skills." The female stated, settling in her bed.

Mai nodded her head, turning back to the table where pieces of notes and pencils scattered everywhere. "So, let's get back to work." She said.

Satoshi pouted, "But I don't want to." She whined, falling backwards on her bed.

Mai giggled.

"Hey, Hotaru-chan, may I ask you something?" The female asked, twisting her body to the side. Her head lay in her palm while her other hand rested on her hip.

"Sure." The female whispered, looking up from her notes that Murasakibara had handed her after their so call study session.

"What's your relationship with Murasakibara-kun?" She asked. Mai titled her head to the side, confused by the question.

"What do you mean? We…we are friends." The green eye responded.

A blonde eyebrow raised at her statement.

"Well...You see, you don't talk to people and he doesn't either, besides the basketball team, but still. Even after the English project finishing, you guys… seem closer." Satoshi stated.

Mai still did not understand, "How…how so?" Asked quietly.

Satoshi understood clearly, Mai was naïve when it came to any other relationships. A smile played on her lips before she spoke, "Oh, never mind…" The blonde-haired girl said, moving into a sitting position and gather her own notes.

"I just think you guys shall make a cute couple." She muttered to herself.

"Huh?"

"Nothing! May we start on math first?"

* * *

"Taru-chin~," The male whine beside her.

Mai looked up, "Yes Mura-kun?" She asked.

"I want cookies." He stated.

Mai giggled and shook her head, "But I don't have any today."

Murasakibara pouted, placing his hand on her head, "then make some." He commanded, his lazy purple eyes looked determined in getting more sweets from the girl.

Mai pouted, "But I need to study." She whispered, looking down on her notebook that held confusing equations of physics.

"Hnn." He sounded off; his fingers played her tips of her hair while he waited for break to finish.

"Why don't you go and get something from the vending machine?" She asked, looking through the corner of her eyes.

"Too far." He muttered, removing his hand from her hair and back to his desk, getting comfortable to go back to sleep.

"Mura-kun is lazy." Mai stated, earning a light glare from the male.

Mai grinned before turning her attention back to the notes, only to realize she had some chocolates left from yesterday. "Mura-kun, I just remember," The girl quietly said, gaining the attention from the half-sleepy male.

"If you help me though," She stated. Murasakibara frowned at her words, but slowly he nodded his head.

"Good, please explain to me the equations of rotation and I'll hand you yesterday's chocolates I saved up." She stated.

Murasakibara looked at her; lazily sat up and lean towards her desk. "Alright." He said, allowing a yawn to escape him before he looked at the formula on Mai's paper.

"Thank you." She whispered, smiling shyly at the male.

"Hmm." He hummed.

* * *

_"Mai, you have beautiful hair." The elderly women said, brushing the long black hair._

_The six-year-old girl giggled, "Thank you grandma!" She said, sitting happily on the chair, feet swinging back and forth. Waiting patiently for the elder to finish doing her hair._

_"Oh Takumi, how I missed doing this." The female stated._

_The young male chuckled as he watched his mother-in-law fix Mai's hair._

_"I just wish Yasu should drop her greed." Aiko said softly._

_"I know, but she won't not even for Mai." The male stated._

_"I know, but I am glad you chose Araki as her godmother."_

_Takumi nodded his head, "I have known her since high school and she was happy to know that I was going to allow her to be the godmother." The male stated._

_"Done." Aiko said, patting Mai on the shoulders._

_Mai happily jumped off from the chair and quickly ran upstairs to look at the mirror._

_Both adults laughed at the hyperactive girl._

_"She looks just as you, but she has the eye color of her mother, yet her eyes look different from hers." Aiko stated, accepting the cup of tea Takumi offered her._

_"Grandma, I love it!" Mai yelled, running back down with a big smile._

_"I love it grandma!"_

_"I am glad to hear that." The elderly woman said._

_Daddy, may we give grandma some of the Iced Lemon bread we made yesterday?" The girl asked, pulling on her father's arm, trying to move the male._

_Yes sweetie." He said, allowing Mai to lead him to the kitchen._

* * *

"So, what happen to your bruise?" Murasakibara asked, watching the female in beside of him finishing the last question she had from the review packet.

"Hmm, Satoshi-chan taught me how to apply this thing call foundation." Mai said, looking up from her paper, a shy smile on her face.

The male nodded his head, "I don't trust her." He bluntly stated.

Mai titled her head to the side, "Why?"

Murasakibara shrugged his shoulders and looked at Mai's paper, "That one is wrong." He said, changing the subject.

Looking back down to the problem the male had pointed out.

"I have very much dislike for this subject right now." Mai muttered, moving to the problem.

"Hmm." Murasakibara hummed, amused at Mai's pouting face.

"Atsushi, we have to go to practice now." Himuro stated, coming inside the classroom.

"Why?" The male whined.

Himuro sighed, "Because the Winter Cup is a few weeks away and even if we don't have to participate in preliminary, we still need to practice." Himuro stated.

"I don't want to."

"I'll buy you a bag full of sweets." Himuro added.

At the mention of sweets, Murasakibara looked at Himuro with a hopeful expression, "Really?" He asked. The elder male nodded his head.

"Alright then." Murasakibara stated, standing up from his desk. "I'll be leaving then Taru-chin." He stated, patting the girl on the head.

"Alright Mura-kun, I'll see you tomorrow." Mai said, smiling shyly at the male.

"Excuse us then Hotaru-chan." Himuro said, making his way out of the classroom. Mai only nodded her head and went back to doing her work in front of her.

* * *

With classes over and many students having left already the classroom, only Mai and Asami left in the classroom for their classroom duty, the green eye female felt anxious.

It was clear that the brown hair female disliked her, so having a small conversation with her was out of the question.

"Ho-ta-ru-chan~," a female voice sang, sliding the door open.

Looking up from her crouching position, her green eyes met angry brown eyes.

Feeling a shiver run down her spine, she awkwardly greets Hiyori.

"Uhhh…hello Hiyori-chan." She whispered.

"We need to talk." The female said a disturbing smile played her lips.

Licking her lips, Mai tries to stand up, but a strong hand pushed her down, making her knees hit the floor with a strong force.

Looking back, she saw one of the boys that had gone with them during the festival. Taking a deep breath, Mai tried calming her nerves down.

"I hate the fact that I lost a friend." Hiyori began, pacing back in forth in front of Mai.

"Hiyori, you better hurry." Asami stated, standing beside the door, looking out the small window.

"Yeah, yeah." Hiyori said, waving her hand that held a pair of scissors.

Mai bit her bottom lip, freaking out from the inside.

"Alright, you steal something precious and I will do the same. Because Satoshi stopped talking to us and even stated that she hated how I acted and became friends with you, it infuriates me." Hiyori said each word held hate towards the female.

"B-But I didn't do anything wrong." Mai whispered, biting her tears back.

"You made my childhood friend hate me, you did something to her." Hiyori hissed, slapping Mai.

Mai flinched at the contact.

Struggling to move, the hands on her shoulder pressured her down, making it difficult for her to get up.

She may be tall, but she lacks strength. She lacks the motivation to hit. She did not want to fight. She hates it. He only thing she could hate, it was the violence.

"So, since you took something I love, I am taking away the only thing that comforts you." Hiyori stated, snapping the scissors in front of her face.

Mai's green eyes widen, looking at Hiyori with horror before she struggle to move more.

"Hold her still." Hiyori commanded, grabbing a bunch of her hair and began snipping it away.

"S-stop!" Mai screamed, grabbing the hands on her shoulders and sinking her nails, but they would not budge, instead, they held onto her tighter.

"Please! STOP IT!" She screamed.

The female in front of her snickered and continued cutting Mai's black hair.

Mai was helpless. Her struggles were useless and she had to watch her waist-length hair cut.

"SHIT! Hiyori, we have to go now!" Asami yelled. Hiyori stopped and quickly got up.

The three students ran out of the classroom, leaving Mai on the floor crying into her hands. The cool air hitting her barely covered neck.

"What's going on?" A male teacher asked.

Looking at the floor, he notices Mai and piles of hair surrounding her, surprised, he moved quickly.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Mai shook her head, unable to talk.

"Come on, let's get up and leave to the office."

Mai followed him, trying to control her cried, but it fails her, just as her strength had failed her.

* * *

"Alright, I think you should do a few more rounds and your training for today will be finished." The female coach stated, scribbling something down on her board.

The first string nodded their heads, taking a sip of their drinks.

"Second string will be working on their work out I handed them a few weeks ago." Masako stated.

"Hai."

"Third string will –"She was interrupted by the slamming of the gym doors and the panting of a blonde female.

"Coach!" She screamed, hurrying to her side.

The female frown, receiving the card that the student handed her, "Kohaku-sensi told me tell you that you are needed in the office."

Masako raised an eyebrow, opened the letter and quickly scanned it. Her face went from questioning to anger in an instant.

"Kenichi you are in charge!" She yelled, leaving quickly.

Everyone in the gym began to murmur, but it all died down when the captain got their attention and began yelling orders.

Satoshi tried gaining her breath but Murasakibara still made his way towards the female. "What's going on?" He asked.

The female looked up at the taller male, a frown showed her face. "I really can't say." She stated.

"Why not?" He asked.

Biting her lip, she looked away, "I wasn't told anything about it, only to be the messenger, but…but I did see Mai crying." She stated.

"Do you know where she is?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Most likely in the office." She stated.

The purple haired male nodded his head, looking away from the female and at the door that Masako had left in a hurry.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Mai did not show up in her class and it made Murasakibara frown at her desk.

His eyes would slowly make their way towards her desk direction.

It was empty and it annoyed him for many unknown reason that he could not place.

When Tuesday arrived, Murasakibara dragged his feet to class, still sleepy from waking up early in the morning and meeting the cold air.

Rubbing his eye with his palm, he laid his head on the desk, closing his eyes, trying to return to his sleep. However, the scratching of the chair on the floor caused him to look to his left side, his face hidden beneath his arms and hair. His eyes narrowed at the sight of a girl with the bobby cut hairstyle.

It took him a while to realize that the girl with the short hair was Mai. "…Taru-chin?" He asked.

Mai looked to her side, a shy smile placed on her lips. "Oh…uhh… Mura-kun, hello." She whispered.

Hoarse and forced, the male noted. Her green eyes looked tired and worn out.

He did not like it one bit, it was like all over from the beginning.

"What happen to your hair?" He asked bluntly, not moving from his position, watching her carefully.

Her shy smile left her lips and her frown slightly before she looked at the table, a hand going to her short hair from the neck. Her bangs were long enough to hide her face slightly.

"A…an accident happen while I was cooking." She stated softly, looking at Murasakibara with a forced smile.

His frown, he could tell she was lying.

"You are a horrible liar." He stated. Mai flinched and he took notice of it.

The class bell rang out, letting the same class routines to begin. Mai quickly looked forwards, trying to ignore the hard stare that the male was giving her.

So much for trying to lie her way through this.

* * *

_"Mai, are you alright?" Masako asked, quickly making her way to Mai whose cries had fallen silent and her expression becoming unreadable._

_"I want to leave." She whispered._

_The elder female nodded her head._

_"Let's go home." She whispered._

_Mai nodded her head and allowed Masako to lead her out of the clinic._

_The conversation with the science teacher and the principle made Masako worry about the girl's mental health. She could not have her fall back into a depression state. It would be bad for her memory and could possibly lead her to another shock._

_"Araki-nesan, I don't want to go to school for a while." Mai whispered._

_"Alright." Masako said._

_"I can't face any of them. I am weak. I can't even protect myself." She continued. Masako sighed and watched the girl just talk to herself._

_She hoped she did not lock her out like last time._

* * *

**A/N: Muwahaha I said I was going to bring some angst to Mai and I did, now what will happen to the relationship with Mura-kun if Mai closes her world again? :O**

**Please review and leave your thoughts~ and possibility of fluff will be presented in the next chapter (: **

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Bye- Lucy**


	16. Friendship

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 16**

Tuesday was straining for them to speak.

Her fidgeting while she sat at her desk, the stuttering lies she told him and the avoiding of eye contact.

It was annoying him.

Therefore, when Wednesday rolled in, they did not bother to greet each other or even bother to glance.

Mai felt guilty when she lied to him, but she could not tell him the truth. She felt ashamed that she was not strong and the dark thoughts crawled her mind. Plaguing her mind with made up lies – feeling the need to hide from his questioning gaze.

She tried hiding behind her bangs that only reached her nose now. Her only comfort was gone.

She was not ready to face him or anybody.

When the lunch bell rang, the female quickly gathered her stuff and left the room in a hurry.

Soon becoming a routine for Mai.

Enter the classroom, avoid speaking and leave in a hurry when the bell rang.

* * *

Murasakibara was annoyed.

It was all over his face.

Himuro was amused, very.

He watched, as the purple haired teen munched on the bag of chips like there was no tomorrow.

"Atsushi, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing wrong." He muttered, opening another bag.

"It doesn't seem like it." Himuro mused.

"Hmm." Murasakibara hummed, locating his eyes down the side of the roof.

He had caught glancing at the blonde female and Hotaru sitting on a table underneath a tree. The blonde seemed like she was chattering away and Hotaru was only fiddling with her sleeve.

His frown only increased and his purple eyes narrowed.

Raising his visible eyebrow, Himuro peeked beside the male, catching the two females before letting his stare revert to the taller male.

"Did you and Hotaru-chan have a fight?" He asked.

Murasakibara did not answer, but the grip on his bag of chips tighten at the question.

* * *

"Hotaru-chan!" Satoshi whined, pulling the taller female from her desk, out the warm building, and out in the cold outdoors.

"S-satoshi-chan!" Mai squealed in surprise.

The blonde female was pouting as she dragged the female underneath a tree in the courtyard. She stayed quiet as she brought them to her destination.

Pointing at the unoccupied table, she spoke. "Please seat."

Nodding her head, Mai quickly made her way, avoiding any eye contact with the female.

"Hotaru-chan…are you mad at me?" The female asked.

Her green eyes widen and looked up at teary blue eyes, "N-NO!" She screamed, shaking her head.

"T-Then why are you avoiding me?" Satoshi asked.

Mai bit her lip and stared at her fiddling hands.

"Mai-chan." Satoshi whispered, getting near at the nervous girl.

"B-Because…" Mai began, "I…I don't deserve friends." She whispered.

"Eh?" Satoshi sounded off. Her blue eyes popping out of her face.

Thunk.

"O-Ow!" Mai shouted, her hands quickly moving up to nurse her head while she looked up. Satoshi had her eyes closed with her fist in the air.

"BAKA! She screamed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW UPSET AND WORRY I WAS?"

Her green eyes widen and she shook her head.

"Well…I was." Satoshi mumble, opening her eyes and lowering her fist. "I was very worried Mai. I kept thinking to myself, did I do something wrong? Did I scare her off? Was I coming into strong? I kept questioning why you began avoiding me and then I thought about the other two and question them but they didn't say anything." Satoshi stated.

"Mai-chan…am I your friend?" The female asked, tears falling down. Mai bit her lip, "O-of course S-Satoshi-chan."

"Really?" Satoshi asked.

Mai took a deep breath and exhaling before nodding her head, "O-Of course Kiyomi-chan." Mai whispered, embarrassed about saying her first name.

Satoshi brightens at the name and hugged Mai.

"Oh Mai-chan!" She screamed.

Mai became tense at the contact before gradually welcoming the warm hug and patting the crying female.

"Mai-chan, I am sorry that they did that to you." She whispered.

Mai green eyes widen. Before she can question, Satoshi backed away from Mai, avoiding her eyes.

"I have the gut feeling they did something to you…and see you having short hair, it came off weird and it dawns to me when they told me that you weren't my friend." The female explained.

Swallowing the big lump in her thought, Mai nodded her head.

"I am sorry that they did that to you." Satoshi said, bowing to the tall female.

"K-Kiyomi-chan, please don't blame yourself." Mai whispered, touching the back of her head. Allowing her thin fingers to run through her short locks.

"I'll get used to it." She whispered.

"B-But why didn't you tell the principal?" The blonde question.

Mai shook her head, "Then it'll cause more trouble…I think." Mai mumble, looking away.

Satoshi nodded her head.

"Alright." She whispered.

"Well, let's head back to class before the bell rings, alright?" Mai stated, standing up.

Satoshi smiled brightly and nodded her head, "Alright, but you will have to talk to Murasakibara-kun soon!" Satoshi sang, skipping in front of Mai.

Mai winced at the mention of the purple haired teen. Her green eyes glancing up to the roof, where she saw purple locks moving against the wind. His broad back facing her direction.

Yeah, that was going to be a big problem.

After almost a week of avoiding and ignoring the question glances, she knew it was going to be hard to talk to the childish male.

"…Yeah…" She mumble, fixing the top of her sweater to cover her mouth, moving her gaze to the ground.

* * *

"Murasakibara-kun." A female voice brought the attention of the sleepy male.

His purple eyes harden when his gaze turned to meet the blonde female.

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"Now, now. Please don't sound annoyed." She started, raising her hands, but the amused glint in her eyes never left.

"Hmm." He hummed.

"So, I came here to tell you something." She said, her blue eyes went to the empty chair of a black haired female who was gone now.

"And what is that?" He question.

"Well…you see, Mai-chan is having troubles and she won't open up." She began, becoming more amused when his eyebrow twitched at the female's name. She was not sure whether it was because of the first name basis or because of her name at all.

"And?" He mumbled, looking away with a sour expression.

"She needs to be pushed out of it." Satoshi said, "So it means _you_ have to talk to her, or she will never, ever, talk to you again." Satoshi stated a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Haa?" Murasakibara let out, looking once more at Satoshi.

"You heard me. Mai is not the type to talk to people about her feelings, probably something else that is not human, but she won't be making the first move to talking to you because she is very shy and right now, very confused." Satoshi explained.

The male frown at her words.

"So what?" He mumbled.

Satoshi sighed, man people are stubborn, especially these two. "Look, I know you care for her, or else you wouldn't be friends with her…wait, are you two really friends?" She asked.

Murasakibara stayed quiet for a moment, his purple eyes wandered towards the empty desk.

Were they friends?

They were on nickname basis, they talked to one another, she gave him sweets and he helped her study.

Therefore, were they or not.

This was confusing the male, the complication of annoying emotions, the questioning of friendship, and the one person who has been avoiding him like plague for someone unknown reason has reverted one more into her old self – shy and unsure about everything.

He sighed and looked at the blonde-haired woman, who seemed very satisfied by his conflation, making him furrow his brows.

"So, it's pretty much up to you whether you want to continue your friendship with her or not, but let me assure you, Mai really does want to be friends with you, but right now, she…she kind of is lost in her own world and really doesn't know how to talk to people." Satoshi stated.

"Remember, before she spoke to you, she was the class outcast. The introvert." Satoshi pointed out, crossing her arms.

Murasakibara nodded his head slowly, remembering how the female was always by herself and avoiding people.

"Well, that is all I have to say…I am not sure if I should tell you about the other thing though." She mumbled.

"What other thing?" He asked.

Satoshi bit her lip; her blue eyes looked around the room before looking at the male.

"She…she might be getting bullied." She stated.

The male had already thought about it, but hearing Satoshi tell him, made it much possible to be believable as well with Mai's new haircut and being absent, what else it could be except trouble from other students.

"Do you know who?" He asked.

Satoshi looked at him, a bit weary, "Maybe." She said, "But I am not telling you, I am leaving Mai-chan to tell you." She said.

Murasakibara's eyes narrowed, but the female was firm with her decision. Sighing, he nodded his head and looked away from her. "Alright." He mumbled.

Smiling Satoshi walked away from him, allowing him to be.

* * *

After speaking with Satoshi, Murasakibara thought thoroughly about her words.

They kept repeating, echoing in his mind and it was annoying him.

Turning on his stomach, he stared at the red hand of his clock tick away, the only sound sounding off in his room.

The following day after he spoke to the blonde-haired person, he could note that Mai would glance at his side, seeming to debate about something.

It annoyed him that she could not spill it out already, but the lecture reminded him that the female was too damn shy.

However, he did wonder, what happen to her that would revert her back to her old self.

The smiling green eye girl he talked to, the one that prided herself in her cooking, he actually missed her.

Groaning, he looked away from his clock and towards the white wall, counting the lines, and trying to find some sort of comfort for him to fall asleep.

Nevertheless, it was helpless.

The following day, the tall male lets out a yawn as he walked along side with his team for a practice match that Saturday morning.

Heavy bags showed underneath his eyes.

His vice-captain could not help but blurt out what he was up to that did not allow him to rest.

He wanted to say Hotaru's name but he stopped himself and looked away, mumbling his curses underneath his breath.

"Come on Kensuke; leave Atsushi alone, he's been irritated for a while now." Himuro stated, driving away the attention from Murasakibara and towards his partner.

Murasakibara eyes narrowed, but he stayed quiet as he munched on his candy.

* * *

Two weeks the female had gone without talking to the male.

Mai bit her lip and hugged her panda.

"Ne, Hiroki-kun," She began, "Am I being unfair?" She asked.

The stuffed toy stayed silent.

The female frowned, glancing from the bear and towards her phone.

She had his number, she could send a text message and explain very thing to him but she could not. It was rude to do that.

In addition, Satoshi had fully explained that these small things should be spoken carefully in person.

"Yuki-chan, I don't know what to do!" Mai whined, hiding her face onto Hiroki.

Looking at the table, she stared at her five stuffed animals.

The polar bear and pink elephant sat together. The penguin, monkey and the unicorn laid there.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she carefully moves down and towards the animals. Her green eyes absorbing the small details of the plush toys.

Sighing, she smiled weakly, "The first time I get a friend, I am overly excited, but when something small as lying, I run away." She whispered.

"I am such a coward." She stated, rubbing her eyes, letting out a hiccup.

* * *

Monday was cold, colder than usual, making Mai mumble under her breath about the terrible weather.

However, her gut told her something big was going to happen, debating whether to go or just skip class. The shaking of her body, she moved numbly towards the school building.

Her gaze landed on purple hair male, making her tense, allowing the shaking hurt her body.

Quickly looking towards the ground, she moved slowly, trying to avoid being around Murasakibara.

He would be thinking of her worthless, right.

That she was weak and annoying, not deserving person to be his friend.

That is what her mind made up, preventing her from speaking to the male. She wanted to apologize to him, but she was unsure.

Sighing to herself, she moved slowly, glancing at the board back slowly disappearing inside the warm building.

So much for standing firm and going to speak to him.

It was going to be another long day for her.

It was, indeed, long day up until lunchtime.

Instead of having the blonde female come up to her and ask to have lunch together, she felt a large hand grab her wrist and drag her up from her desk and out the classroom.

Leaving curious bystanders to question what was going on.

Having trouble keeping up with the long strides that Murasakibara was making, Mai found herself confused and anxious.

Feeling her palms become sweaty, she stared at his back, wondering what was going through his mind now.

Was he angry?

Was he going to tell her that she was weak and would no longer be friends?

Was he going to make her explain her actions?

Trying to shake off all negative thoughts away, Mai bit her lip and allowed the male to drag her out.

His hold on her wrist was tight.

However, she also noted the white bag in his other hand.

She wondered what type of snacks he bought to eat this time.

Was he eating that pocky? Or that Nerunerunerune candy he showed her last time they studied together.

Feeling her body slowly start shaking, her green eyes tear away from the bag and around her surroundings.

Walking down the hallway that lead to the roof from the mess hall, she wondered why they would head all this way.

Feeling eyes on his back, his hold on the wrist tighten but not tight enough to bruise her either.

Murasakibara was confused why he had dragged her all the way out here or why he had even grabbed her to begin with.

Opening the door that leads to the stairs, he slowed his pace, allowing Mai to walk a foot behind him.

He frowned, what was he supposed to say now?

'I am sorry, but I would like to know what's going on?' No.

That was not him, he was never concerned for other people, and so why was he now.

Glancing behind him, he could see that she was confused, nervous and shaking. Sighing, he walked the steps slowly, moving the sign and opened the door, leaving her wrist.

Both students entered the roof in silence, unsure who should speak.

Mai rubbed her hands together, pressing them close to her face, trying to find some warmth to them.

Murasakibara stood in front of him, doing nothing.

Biting her lip, she looked everywhere before glancing back at the unmoved male. Opening her mouth to speak, he spoke.

"Sorry." He mumbles, turning around to look at her. "I want to talk." He stated.

Mai closed her mouth and nodded her head.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He asked.

Mai winced.

"Why did you lie to me?"

Wince again.

"Are…are we not friends." He asked.

Mai winced once more, looking down to the floor.

"…So we are not?" He asked, somehow, those words made his chest feel heavy.

Mai shook her head.

"Oh." He said. The feeling became even more intense.

"T-that's not it!" She said, removing her hands away from her face and down her side.

"Then what is?" He asked, annoyed that the feeling in his chest was not leaving.

He watches her take a deep breath, her hands fiddle with her long sleeve, and her shoulders shake.

"I…I do want to be friends with Murasakibara, I really do." Mai said.

Her mind was whirling with many thoughts; her stomach was hurting her and her heart was pounding hard against her chest, making it difficult to breath. "B-but, I feel like I am not worthy of his friendship." She stated, bring her hands up to her eyes, rubbing her teary eyes.

"I…I am so weak." She said, "But Mura-kun is so strong and I feel he would hate me because I am weak." Mai said, looking at Murasakibara with her red puffed eyes.

Murasakibara frowned at her words. He knew she was the strongest person he would befriend and the words did hold some truth to them, but he somehow wanted to be friends with her.

"I…I lied to you because I don't Mura-kun to hate me for being weak." She hiccupped. "Or that I am getting bullied."

Murasakibara frowned, stepping forward, he brought his hand up to Mai's head, allowing to rest on top of it before he allowed his big fingers to run through her short locks.

Mai's eyes widen, shifting her head to look up at the frowning male, biting her bottom lip.

"I want to be friends with Taru-chin." He stubbornly said, his eyes softening when he met her eyes.

Mai stiffly nodded her head.

Bring his hand down; he whipped her tears away with his thumb, "So don't ignore me." He stated. Cupping her face with both hands, he wiped the tears.

Mai nodded her head, "Okay." She whispered.

Murasakibara nodded his head, "Good." He mumbled.

"I am sorry Mura-kun." She whispered once more.

"Don't be, but I want to know who bullied you." He stated, his firm gaze never leaving her.

Mai bit the inside of her cheek.

"Why?" She asked.

"I want to know." He stated.

"Why though?"

"Cause they need to pay."

Mai blinked her eyes.

"They…they are the ones that cut your hair right?" He asked, his hands, leaving her face.

Mai's hand instantly reached the back of her head, her fingers grazing her somewhat bare neck.

"Yeah." She mumbled.

Hearing the rustling of the bag, Mai looked up; Murasakibara brought out a dark green scarf and moved forward towards her.

His purple eyes fixed on the scarf, carefully wrapping it around her neck. "So you aren't cold." He stated, not looking at her, but rather in the green material.

Smiling, Mai brought her cold hands on top of him and held them tightly, "Thank you…Mura-kun." She whispered.

"Hmm." He hummed.

Flickering his eyes at the smile, "Just don't ignore me again…or else." He blurted.

Mai blinked her eyes and nodded her head. "Understood." She said with a straight face, but it broke into a smile.

Feeling satisfied, the tall male allowed a small smile to show, making Mai's heart pound against her chest.

Blinking, she chose to ignore it, following the male inside the small building and sitting beside him to enjoy the rest of the lunch period and maybe skip math class with him.

* * *

**But I do hope you guys enjoy this lengthy chapter filled with fluff and friendship. Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Also, I want to thank you for reading, adding this to your favorites, following and for reviewing as well. THANK YOU!  
**

**Anyways, I hope you liked it! Bye!**

**-Lucy**


	17. Broken Family

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 17**

"You know…" Murasakibara started, shifting his body to face the female.

Mai turned to her side, looking at the male; his bangs pushed to the side with the bobby pins the female had put on him earlier that day, allowing her to see his purple eyes.

"You never told me who it was." He stated.

Mai blinked her eyes, not understanding what the male was saying.

"Umm…what?" She asked.

Murasakibara leaned forwards, "I want to know the names of the people who did this." He stated, pointing his finger towards her short locks.

Mai sighed, realizing the male was not planning to drop the subject. Ever since the roof top conversation, the male has been questioning her about the people, staying firm with wanting his question be answered.

"Mura-kun, please don't do this." She whispered, looking away.

Murasakibara frowned, he was not ready to let go of this, but the teacher had other plans and calling him out to pay attention.

Annoyed, the male used his hand to rest his cheek and glare at the board.

* * *

_"Mai, I hope you do understand that what I tell you to do, you can't tell anyone." Yasu stated, watching the girl nod her head, keeping her gaze on the floor while she held her wrist tightly._

_"Yes, mommy." She spoke softly._

_Five-year-old Mai could not do much, but obey her mother's orders._

_"That also means your father. If he found out, I would have so many problems and I cannot have that. Therefore, you had better keep your mouth shut or be heavily punished. Not a word."_

_Her bright green eyes widen, realizing she had to keep secrets from him. Biting her lip, she nodded her head, whimpering._

_"Please don't cry." Yasu stated, slamming her book down her desk. Mai jumped and nodded her head. _

_"Good, Hiraku-san will be coming to pick you up; you better obey every order he tells you." The female stated. _

_"Yes, mommy." She spoke, her voice shaky. She was scared. The name scared. It was the third time she had met him. Third time he wanted to keep the girl near him._

_Her skin broke out into goosebumps, remembering the male's fat fingers touch her face and played with her hair. Bring it to his nose and taking a deep breath. _

_He was a big man. _

_A scar covering his right eye, a big moustache covered his lips. Smelling like smoke. _

_It made the small girl stomach twist into knots, pressing hard against her lungs. Making it difficult for her to breath._

_A small ding went off on Yasu's phone, a small whimper left Mai's lips._

_"Hiraku-sama from Red District has come." The secretary said over the phone. _

_"Let him in."_

_"Yes ma'am"_

_Quick and easy, Mai held onto her wrist tightly, trying to surpass her tears. _

_"Ah Yasu-chan, it's wonderful to see you again!" The doors open, in walked a very heavy and big man wearing a suit with a fur coat._

_"Hiraku-san, it's always a pleasure to see." Yasu stood up from her desk and walking towards the man._

_The male chuckled, snapping his two fingers two males appeared. _

_"Bring Yasu-chan the suitcase." He commanded._

_"Ah, already? I thought we would have some tea before you left." Yasu said._

_Hiraku shook his head, "I am heading out of Tokyo for a while and will be heading to Kyoto." He said._

_Yasu nodded his head, "Then do you want me to have Mai's lugged fix them?" She asked. _

_"It won't be a problem, whatever she has- will do, and I'll have my maids buy her new clothing." The male stated. _

_Yasu nodded her head, "Alright." She said. _

_"Mai, greet Hiraku-san." Yasu said sickly sweet. _

_Mai swallowed hard, turning to bow to the male, "H-Hello H-Hiraku-san." She said softly. _

_His loud laughter shook her, scaring the girl but she kept her bow. "Damn Yasu, she looks like a doll, I'll make sure to dress her well for the meeting the Yakuza are having over there." The male stated._

_Yasu smiled, "Ah, well make sure you send me some pictures and the fifty percent of her earnings." She said, giggling._

_"Of course, of course. You know I promise you that and you keep helping with the cops." The male said, grinning like mad._

_"Of course."_

_"Come on Mai, go with Shinji, I need to talk to your mother about something." The male said, motioning for the girl to follow the tall redhead. _

_Mai straightens up and nodded her head, "Yes, sir." She whispered, following the male._

_"Mai," Mai's mother called, "Remember what we spoke about earlier." She said. _

_Turning around, she nodded her head and bowed. _

* * *

Mai sat beside him, eating her bento. Himuro sat in front of him and the blond girl sat beside him.

How did this happen?

Oh yeah, because he wanted to try some of Mai's bento, he decided to ask her if he could try some, but the blonde popped out of nowhere, suggesting to eat together and then the second year decided to join them.

Asking permission, four desksturnedn together and sat together.

Mai blinked at the unexpected square that had formed.

Murasakibara was annoyed.

"Come on Mai-chan! Let me try!" The blonde asked, her chopsticks ready to grab the items from Mai's bento.

"Eh, why are you so eager to get some?" Mai asked, offering her bento to the girl, but Murasakibara's chopsticks grabbed the last of umeboshi that the girl was eyeing.

Satoshi gasped and stared at the purple haired male pop the pickled plum into his mouth, a smirk on his face.

Mai giggled and Himuro laughed as the two teens fought over the food from the small bento.

"I guess I'll eat the melon bread." Mai mused to herself, watching food slowly disappear with the fighting chopsticks.

* * *

_"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Takumi screamed._

_Yasu waved her hand, "She is with a friend." She stated simply._

_"What do you mean with a friend, Yasu?" He asked. _

_"You know, she simply wanted to see that chef that was coming to Kyoto and my friend was going to visit Kyoto for his business so I asked if he could take her and she agreed." The female said, scanning the documents from her work._

_"I want a divorce." Takumi stated. _

_"Huh?" She sounded her attention turned to the tall male. _

_"You heard me, I am tired of this. We do not live together. We do not speak to one another, only if it concerns about Mai and we are almost arguing with each other." The male stressed. _

_Yasu nodded her head, "Alright, but I am keeping custody of Mai." _

_"You will not." _

_"I will and there is nothing you can do, Takumi." The female said, a smile plastered her red lips._

_The male frowned. _

_"I will get her and have this company shut down for running together with the Yakuza." _

_"Do it, but I have enough power to accuse you for child abuse." The female smirked, resting her chin on the lace finger in front of her._

_"What!" The male yelled._

_"You heard me Takumi." She said. _

_The male growl, slamming his hands on her desk._

_"You won't get away with this Yasu."_

_"I will win in the end."_

_"You won't, I can guarantee it." The male hissed._

* * *

"So, when are you going to tell me?" The male asked, throwing his head backwards and onto Mai's lap, who sat on the bleachers.

The female raised an eyebrow.

"Not any time soon." She said, poking his forehead.

He frowns at her words; his purple eye stared at her green eyes, "Why not?"

"Because you will do something to them, right?" She said, turning her attention to the court, watching the second string coached by the first string.

"No, I wouldn't…probably." He mumbles.

Raising an eyebrow, she returns her gaze back at the male. Pushing her bangs behind her ear, "Then I won't tell you." She firmly stated.

"Why won't you tell me?" He whined, pouting like a small child.

"Because, I don't want you to do something stupid and not allowed to play in the games." She whispered, fiddling with her sleeve.

The male hummed and stared at Mai. "Alright, but you will tell me once the games are over."

Mai hummed, her green eye flickered to his purple, "Maybe." She whispered.

Murasakibara pouted, Mai smiled, moving her hand to run through his locks, making the male relaxed at the touch. Her fingers rubbing circles in his scalp.

He was happy to have Mai talking to him, though he will not admit it at loud, but the annoying feeling in his stomach annoyed him, especially when he sees her calm and sincere expression.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter, only this time it's more about her past and small fluffy interactions with Mai and Murasakibara.  
**

**So now, Mai and Mura-kun have an agreement, yay!  
**

**Well, that is all, tomorrow, I might not update, I have to finish my essay, so sorry, but please, let me hear your thoughts! Also, what do you think of Mai's mom? And I guess you guess have pretty much figured what she is doing to her and what's happening, right? I feel so sorry for her...but oh, it's all for the plot.**

**Anyways, please review! Thank you for reading, following and favioriting! Bye!**

**-Lucy**


	18. Revealed

**Does not own Kuroko no Basketball**

* * *

**蛍甘ダンス**

**Firefly Sweet Dance**

**Atsushi Murasakibara x Oc**

**Chapter 18**

"Please take your books and begin writing the notes on the board." The teacher stated, placing his books on the desk.

Mai blinked at the male teacher, coming back to reality.

Rubbing her eyes with her sweater sleeves, allowing a small yawn to leave her lips.

Her gaze stared at the board with uninterested before she grabbed her pencil and began jotting the notes on her notebook

The lazy giant peeked through his bangs from his position and watched the female sitting beside him write in a sluggish manner.

His eyes always seemed to follow her form, her movements and her reactions.

It was beginning to irritate him but he could not stop his gaze from following the female. The need to always wanting her near him or wanting some sort of contact with the female.

It was annoying him, but deep down, he could not hate her.

Mai looked to her side; she allowed a shy smile on her face. Her green eyes meet lazy purple ones.

Blinking his eyes, the male snuggled into his arm and continued to stare at the female - who went back to her writing.

Ah, he hates the feeling his stomach made, the strong churning and twisting of his stomach, along with the fast beating of his heart.

Though his hate slowly melted away every time she smile towards him, her green eyes becoming bright when she always catches him staring, giggling at him, only making him scowl or pout - but she would always end up giving him something sweet and allowing her attention to return to whatever she was doing before getting distracted.

Confused by the strong feelings – the purple haired giant just allowed his eyes to settle on the female, allowing a small smile to place his lips before nodding off.

He could deal with whatever it was later; he was too tired to think about it right now and his only questions and answers were about the female who was now engross with work and he couldn't do much without getting in trouble.

* * *

"We are having our first game soon." Murasakibara mumbled under his breath as he lay on the empty gym. The female beside him hummed, looking up from her book, her green eyes curiously stared at the male whose interest was on the ceiling.

"I don't want to play." He said, frowning at his own thoughts.

"Why?" Mai asked softly, closing the book and placing it beside her.

"Cause, it's boring." He said indifferently.

Mai it her lip, tilting her head to the side as she watched the male not looking at her but glaring the thin air.

"Then…why do you play it?" She asked carefully, placing her hands on her knees; bring them closer to her chest, resting her chin.

Murasakibara tilted his head to his side; his purple eyes met hers, "Because I am good at it." He mumbled. Mai hummed, staring at the male before nodding her head.

"Okay." She said, not wanting to push the subject any further.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come and watch the quarterfinals." He asked.

Mai frown at his statement, "Why?" She asked.

"I want you there." He simply stated.

Mai nodded her head, "Okay…but Mura-kun, I don't know much about the sport." She whispered, pouting slightly.

"So?" He asked, rolling to his side, propping his elbow and resting his head and stared at Mai.

Mai huffed, leaning closer to Murasakibara, "So? It means I am not going to understand a single thing that is happening." She stated, poking his forehead.

Grabbing her wrist, Murasakibara pulled it away from his face, "Just learn the basics, we will pretty much win." He muttered, allowing his eyes to rest on their hands.

Her thin pointer finger loosely wrapped around his own finger, he allowed his finger to tighten his hold.

Scrunching up her nose, she pressed her lips tightly together, "Fine." She whispered, allowing her green eyes to trail on their hands. Heat slowly began building up on her face as she buried her face onto her lap. Allowing the silence to take over their small, comfortable space.

* * *

Mai placed the sports magazine in the basket before moving along the aisle towards the sweets.

"Hmm…basketball? Sports?" Her blond female hummed, looking at the taller female. Mai nodded her head.

"Why?" Satoshi asked.

"Mura-kun wants me to come watch him play." Mai said shyly, looking at the bag of chips in her hands.

The blonde teen grinned big, "Oh, he did now?"

Blinking her eyes, Mai looked at Satoshi, "Yeah, he said he wanted me there."

Satoshi began giggling, making Mai become confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing is wrong, is just…wow." Satoshi said, placing a bag of candies in the basket Mai held.

The black haired female frowned, but did not bother questioning the petite female.

"So when is the game?" Satoshi asked, walking beside Mai. Heading to the cash register to pay for their food.

"I…I don't know. I forgot to ask." Mai said, a light blush came to her face as she remembered the warmth that radiated from the male and how close they have become.

Satoshi quirked an eyebrow, "You forgot to ask? What did you get distracted?" The female asked.

Mai's blush brighten, shaking her head, "N-nothing happene." Mai whispered harshly, looking away from a grinning blonde.

"Something must have happened, because you look so bright!"

"N-NO!" Mai squealed, trying to hide her face with the green scarf.

"Oh come on Mai, just admit it already."

"Admit what?"

"…That you like the purple haired giant." The blond female stated, her blond eyebrow raised as she stared at the shy female. Her face was bright and her failure in hiding behind the green scarf failed, but the innocent green eyes widen a bit, soon filled with curiosity and confliction. Her eyebrows slowly knitted as she bit her bottom lip.

Satoshi realized that she ruined the discovery of the female's feelings.

"Mai?" Her question.

Blinking, the taller female came back to earth. "I… I think… you are right." She mumbled, making the female's bright face become even brighter.

Satoshi bit her bottom lip and nodded her head, staring at the tall female fiddle with the basket, becoming lost in deep thoughts once more, though her face not once became pale but brighter.

* * *

Hiyori pursed her lips together as she walked towards the coach, who was looking at the board.

"Araki- Sensei, I need to talk to you." The female said.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the blacked haired coach moved her eyes from the board to towards the brunette.

"Alright, speak." She said.

Taking in a deep breath, Hiyori swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking.

"Why is Hotaru Mai still in this school? Does this school not know that she was involved with the Yukuza?"

At the words, Masako frowned, staring at the girl in confusion before the pieces fell into place.

"How do you?" She was beginning to ask, but Hiyori shook her head.

"I saw her in my second year of Junior High; we went to the same school but we never spoke. I always saw a tall girl get picked up in a fancy car, but never would I have guessed that Hotaru was prostituting herself to the Yukuza." Her brown eyes narrowed in disgust as she remembered.

Masako sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Mai does not remember nor do you know what actually happen in her past. Therefore, I suggest you do not speak about it, think about, and spread about it. You only saw her get inside car nothing more." The female coach stated.

Hiyori glared at the teacher, "She was with the Yukuza, how can she be allowed to roam the school grounds?"

"It's none of your concern. I have spoken to the principle and he knows the details. A girl like you should be minding her own business instead of others, but if I find out that you are cause pain to my goddaughter or that you tell her anything about her past, I will make sure you get expelled." Masako stated.

Hiyori stepped back, her brown eyes widen in fear. Slowly nodding her head, she glared at the ground. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good, now leave and mind your business girl." Masako stated, dismissing the girl with a wave.

Hiyori nodded her head and left the gym, angry that her plan had failed.

"It's not over!" She muttered darkly, before getting her phone out and dialing someone.

_"Hello?"_

"Daddy," Hiyori sniffed on the phone, "I am being threatened by a girl and her Yukuza boyfriend."

* * *

_"Hello Hiraku-sama." Twelve-year-old Mai said, taking her seat next to Hiraku. _

_"Ah, Mai, you look wonderful in your uniform, how does it feel like being in Junior High?" The leader of the Yukuza stated, smiling brightly at the female. _

_Mai bit her bottom lip and looked at the ground. "I feel happy and excited." She whispered. _

_The elder male chuckled "Ah, that's good. Well, your mom told me to pick up, so always wait in front of the gates, alright?" He stated. _

_Mai nodded her head, "Yes Hiraku-sama." She whispered. _

_"Good girl, always obedient." The male stated, patting the female on the head._

_Mai sat next the older male, tensed and tired, but she could not allow her poster to falter or she be punished severely._

_"Mai-chan looks like a doll!" A male stated, not sitting far from the female. _

_Mai shivered; trying her best to ignore the lewd stares she received by three elder males that sat not to far from her. _

_Sensing the female distressed, a thick arm wrapped around Mai, pushing her towards the male. "Now, now. Mai is mine and if I want to share I will but not today, Kishimoto-san." Hiraku stated, throwing a glare at the male._

_The lanky male raised his arms in surrender, nodding his head, "I know, but I am just stating. " _

_Hiraku nodded his head, not once releasing Mai. _

_Biting the inside of her cheek, she began tasting the familiar metal liquid, swallowing the lump in her throat. Trying to ignore the cold bumps that raised in her arms, smelling the mixture of heavy colon and cigarettes. _

_As the car began to slow down, the hold on her slowly, loosen up. Grabbing her bag, Mai bowed slightly at the other males before facing Hiraku, "I will see you then Hiraku-sama." She stated. _

_The male nodded his head, "Have a nice day Mai, and just remember what your mom told you." Hiraku stated. _

_Mai nodded her head, "Yes sir." She stated. _

_Smiling, the male patted her head, before nodding his head, giving the female permission to leave the car. _

_Mai quickly left the car, freezing slightly at the crowded gate. Taking a shaggy breath, the twelve year old, stared at the ground before moving towards the school. _

_Already feeling the many stares and whispers on her back. _

_So much for new beginnings._

* * *

**_A/N: Hi there...sorry for the late, LATE, update. Stuff happen and well, I couldn't update._**

**_Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, I think it's more of a filler, but a fluff and drama filled filler lol. Thank you for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed it. _**

**_I would like to thank you for following, adding to your favorites, and reviewing while my absence. THANK YOU SO MUCH! _**

**_Any who, please review, tell me what you think of Mura-kun's thoughts about his feelings? And what do you expect from Hiyori...muwahaha. =)  
_**

**_Please do expect more updates, hopefully, I can't really promise yet, but please look forward to the next chapter._**

**_Thank you aand bye!_**

**_-Lucy_**


End file.
